The number of foreign students who have become illegal immigrants dropped steadily from 7,551 persons in 2013 to 5,652 persons in 2016. However, the number grew sharply by 45.9 percent to 8,248 persons in 2017. (image: Yonhap)
SEOUL, Oct. 10 (Korea Bizwire) — As the number of foreign students exceeding their permitted stay illegally in South Korea continues to grow, critics are calling for better follow-up measures after international students are recruited to various schools in South Korea.
According to data submitted by the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Justice to Rep. Kim Hae-yeong of the Democratic Party, who sits on the National Assembly’s Education Committee, a total of 161,371 foreign students were studying in the nation legally as of August of this year. Over 10,000 foreign students were found to be overstaying their visas.
The number of foreign students who have become illegal immigrants dropped steadily from 7,551 persons in 2013 to 5,652 persons in 2016. However, the number grew sharply by 45.9 percent to 8,248 persons in 2017.
And as of August of this year, the number of illegal aliens had grown to 11,176, marking a 97.7 percent increase from 2016. A total of 15,199 foreign students have become illegal immigrants over the last five years.
Seoul hosted the greatest number of illegal aliens with 3,024, followed by Gyeonggi Province (2,206 people), North Gyeongsang Province (1,137 people), North Jeolla Province (892 people), and Busan (539 people).
Kim stated that many universities are looking to recruit foreign students as the number of domestic students has fallen.
“But the Ministry of Education should ensure proper follow-up measures even after foreign students are recruited,” said Kim.
H. S. Seo (hsseo@koreabizwire.com)
