[New Korean Dream⑥] "Coming to Korea to Work Is Fine... But Coming to Live? Not So Sure" Conflicting Views

Public Perception Survey on Foreigners and Immigration Policy
73.8% Support Reducing or Maintaining Number of Immigrants Entering Korea
Strict Measures Favored for Stateless Immigrants and Illegal Residents
84.9% Cite Social Insurance Contributions as Key Naturalization Requirement
Agree on Increasing Foreign Workers but Concerned About Crime and Public Safety

On the 22nd, foreigners and citizens are waiting to enter at the arrival hall of Terminal 1, Incheon International Airport. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] Our citizens welcome foreign workers who come to fill the shortage of jobs, but they tend to have negative or reserved attitudes toward granting nationality to immigrants, refugees, and undocumented residents who want to live in Korea.

While many believe that immigrants act as an opportunity factor in our society, there is also a strong opinion that rights for immigrants should be limited and border control should be stricter. 'New Korean Dream'

The '2021 Foreign Student Recruitment Fair' was held on the 12th at SETEC Exhibition Hall 3 in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Foreign students are attending interviews. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

The Korean Association for Survey Research (Research Director Seol Dong-hoon, President of the Korean Association for Survey Research and Professor of Sociology at Jeonbuk National University) revealed this in a research report submitted last year to the Ministry of Justice’s Immigration and Foreign Policy Headquarters (Public Perception Survey on Foreigners and Immigration Policy). The report is based on a mobile survey conducted from September to October last year targeting 2,207 adult men and women.

According to the report, regarding the number of immigrants entering Korea to live, 37.6% responded that the number should be ‘reduced from the current level’ (‘greatly reduced’ + ‘reduced’), 36.2% said it should ‘remain at the current level,’ and 26.1% said it should ‘increase’ (‘greatly increase’ + ‘increase’). The majority opinion is that the number of immigrants should either be maintained at the current level or reduced.

Response table on the perception of the number of immigrants coming to live in our country [Source=Korean Society of Survey Research research report 'Public Perception Survey on Foreigners and Immigration Policy', Table=Photo by Hyungmin Kim]

In contrast, the opinion that ‘immigrants should be accepted as members of our society’ scored an average of 3.65 on a 5-point scale, with support (66.3%) higher than opposition (17.8%). Opposition (42.3%) was higher than agreement (38.4%) regarding the bloodline-based view that ‘even if immigrants acquire nationality, it is difficult for them to become true Koreans.’

On the other hand, agreement (45.0%) was higher than opposition (33.6%) for the opinion that ‘immigrants should be accepted mainly in areas at risk of population extinction.’ This means that while there is little resistance to accepting immigrants as members of Korean society, there is a negative view toward accepting immigrants primarily for functional purposes to solve population problems.

Furthermore, even for legally residing immigrants without nationality, the granting of rights (agreement 33.3%, opposition 52.3%) should be limited, and the government’s response to undocumented foreigners should be stronger (agreement 79.3%, opposition 11.6%).

Respondents believed that immigrants must contribute to welfare systems, have language communication skills, practical skills, and a sense of belonging to successfully achieve social integration, but they did not see participation in Korean society through nationality acquisition, social activities, or political participation as necessary.

Specifically (multiple responses allowed), ‘immigrants being able to speak Korean,’ ‘immigrants having sufficient education level to find jobs in Korea,’ and ‘immigrants contributing to welfare systems by paying taxes and social insurance premiums in Korea’ each scored highest at 94.6%. In contrast, the proportions who considered ‘immigrants participating in elections in Korea’ (57.4%), ‘immigrants acquiring Korean nationality’ (77.6%), and ‘immigrants participating in meetings or organizations in Korea’ (80.4%) as important were relatively lower.

Additionally, our citizens regard whether immigrants fulfill expected behaviors for social safety and welfare, and whether they possess Korean language skills, as important requirements for naturalization and integration into society.

‘Payment of local taxes and social insurance premiums such as medical insurance’ (84.9%) was considered most important, followed by ‘no criminal record’ (83.3%), ‘continuous residence in Korea for more than 5 years’ (76.7%), ‘not violating the Immigration Control Act’ (74.2%), and ‘ability to communicate in Korean in daily life’ (71.8%).

In contrast, ‘making certain contributions to society’ (26.1%) and ‘living without receiving livelihood or public assistance’ (40.0%) were relatively less emphasized. Regarding the measure to grant nationality to children born in Korea to foreigners with permanent residency or equivalent status as a countermeasure to population aging (supplementary jus soli), ‘agreement’ (72.3%) was about three times higher than ‘opposition’ (23.9%). As for the timing of introducing supplementary jus soli, ‘2025 (when the population aged 65 or older exceeds 20%)’ was the most common at 37.0%, followed by ‘immediately’ at 21.8%, and ‘2022’ at 19.2%, in that order.

Recognition Response Table of Requirements for Foreigners to Acquire Korean Nationality [Source=Korean Society of Survey Research Research Report 'Public Perception Survey on Foreigners and Immigration Policy', Table=Photo by Kim Hyung-min]

Perceptions of foreign workers were similar to the survey results on immigrants. Regarding increasing the number of foreign workers as a way to resolve labor shortages caused by population aging, agreement (71.4%) exceeded opposition (28.6%) by 42.8 percentage points. The most common reason for agreement was ‘filling jobs that Koreans avoid’ (42.8%), followed by ‘no other alternatives to labor shortages’ and ‘alleviating burdens on small and medium enterprises or farmers and fishermen (wage increases due to labor shortages)’ at 27.6% each.

The main reasons for opposition were ‘concerns about deterioration of public safety’ (64.0%), ‘the idea of supplementing labor shortages with foreigners is fundamentally wrong’ (62.3%), and ‘negative impact on Korean jobs’ (61.5%). In contrast, opposition due to ‘concerns about negative impacts on local communities such as real estate and school districts’ (23.6%), ‘lack of cultural conditions to accommodate more foreigners’ (38.0%), and ‘concerns about increased conflicts between Korean and foreign residents’ (41.1%) were relatively lower.

Perception Responses Table and Graph on the Increase of Foreign Workers [Source=Korean Society of Survey Research Research Report 'Public Perception Survey on Foreigners and Immigration Policy', Table=Photo by Hyungmin Kim]

For children born in Korea to legally residing low-skilled foreign workers, the highest response (55.1%) was ‘do not grant residence status but guarantee custody and education rights’ as is currently practiced, followed by ‘grant special residence status only to the child separately from the parents’ (20.8%), ‘grant Korean nationality only to the child separately from the parents’ (11.9%), and ‘grant Korean nationality to both child and parents’ (12.3%). In contrast, for children born in Korea to undocumented foreigners, the highest response (64.3%) was also ‘do not grant residence status but guarantee custody and education rights’ as is currently practiced. This was 9.3 percentage points higher than for children of legally residing low-skilled foreign workers. The response rates for other options were all lower than those for children of legally residing low-skilled foreign workers. This can be interpreted as a strong perception that rights should be differentiated according to residence status. Regarding the opinion to grant legal residence status to undocumented foreigners who have lived long-term in Korea if they meet certain conditions, ‘agreement’ (44.2%) and ‘opposition’ (41.1%) were similar.

For both refugees and humanitarian stay permit holders, the most common opinion was that ‘the current level is appropriate’ (refugees 42.0%, humanitarian stay permit holders 43.6%). This showed a characteristic where the opinion that acceptance is insufficient was about 10 percentage points lower. Regarding future acceptance of refugees or humanitarian stay permit holders, ‘should accept cautiously’ was the highest opinion for both refugees (40.6%) and humanitarian stay permit holders (38.4%).