According to the Ministry of Justice on the 5th, the number of Chinese residing in Korea, including Korean-Chinese, was about 1.02 million as of July. After first surpassing 1 million in April 2016, the number dropped to the 800,000 range during the COVID-19 pandemic, but then increased again. The biggest difference from the past 'one million era' lies in the composition of residence statuses: the number of Chinese who obtained permanent residency (F-5) increased from about 100,000 in 2016 to about 190,000 as of July this year, and those staying on overseas Korean visas (F-4 ) also rose from about 270,000 to about 420,000 during the same period. The number of Chinese people staying on H-2 visas has decreased, and the types of people visiting for employment in manufacturing, construction, and service industries have decreased, and have shifted to those who live there long-term. They are becoming key members of the domestic labor market and local businesses, with 35.6% of the total 1,109,000 foreign workers being Chinese, and there are 10,323 foreign sole proprietorship stores. Among them, 72.5% were Chinese national store owners. The influence of Chinese nationals has also grown in the consumer market; from January to August this year, the domestic card payment amount by Chinese nationals was 2.1789 trillion won, up 40.5% from the same period last year, marking the first time the transaction amount exceeded 2 trillion won. Housing ownership and participation in local politics are also noteworthy changes. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, at the end of last year, Chinese owned 61,439 domestic homes, accounting for 108,231 foreign homes. It ,,,was 56.8%. According to data released last year by Ko Dong-jin, a member of the People Power Party, as of the end of January, among about 140,000 foreign permanent residents eligible to vote in local elections, 110,000 were Chinese nationals, accounting for 81%. Chinese nationals Why can they participate in politics? Foreigners aged 18 and over who have obtained permanent residency for more than three years can participate in elections for local government heads and council members. Professor Kang Jun-young of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies' Graduate School of International and Area Studies analyzed, " After moving to Korea, more Chinese people prefer life in Korea over China," adding, "Deepening controls in Chinese society and low wages likely have had an impact."
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