Korea Releases Official Statistics on Foreign Residents' Domestic Movement and Entry-Exit Flows

South Korea's Ministry of Justice has released two newly approved official statistical series covering the movement of foreign residents within the country and their newly recorded inflows and outflows.

The ministry announced the datasets on April 24, 2026. The "Statistics on the Domestic Movement of Foreign Residents" and the "Statistics on New Inflows and Outflows of Foreign Residents" were designated as nationally approved statistics in April following a review by the National Data Agency.

The ministry said the need for more systematic data had grown as the foreign-resident population reached about 2.78 million in 2025, equivalent to 5.4% of South Korea's total population.

The domestic-movement series uses residence-change reports filed by foreign residents and overseas Koreans to compile quarterly data on moves into and out of regions. It can be used to examine changes in the geographic distribution of foreign residents and patterns connected with employment, education and housing.

The inflow-outflow series is compiled monthly. A new foreigner registration is counted as an inflow, while a departure after cancellation of foreigner registration is counted as an outflow.

These definitions are narrower than ordinary travel or border-crossing statistics. "Outflow" does not mean every departure from Korea, and "inflow" does not mean every person entering the country. The figures are based on specific administrative events involving foreigner registration.

Domestic movement is also different from a new international inflow. A foreign resident who moves from Busan to Seoul is counted in the domestic-movement series, but not as a newly registered inflow from abroad.

The datasets are available through the Korean Statistical Information Service, or KOSIS, and the Ministry of Justice website. Central and local governments may use them to assess foreign-resident distribution, regional population changes and policy needs related to industry, housing and immigration status.

Universities and education providers may use regional trends as background information, but the data do not show enrollment, dropout or graduation outcomes for individual institutions. University-level international student figures must be checked through separate government data and institutional disclosures.