Multicultural Food Street in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province. (image: Ansan City Office)
SEOUL, July 7 (Korea Bizwire) — A growing number of South Koreans believe that there should be an increase in the number of immigrants entering the country, a poll showed Thursday.
The state-run Migration Research and Training Center conducted a survey of 2,000 Koreans aged 19 and above.
Among them, 41.9 percent expressed agreement with the idea of having more immigrants in the country, while 22.3 percent held the opposite view.
Another 35.9 percent of the respondents stated that the foreign population should remain at its current level.
A majority of people believed that Koreans and Korean society have the capacity to accommodate more immigrants.
According to the survey, 80.4 percent of the participants believed that Koreans can coexist with people from diverse backgrounds, 78.2 percent considered South Korea to be an economically thriving society, and 76.3 percent expressed the opinion that diverse languages and cultures can coexist in the country.
Many Koreans displayed generosity regarding the requirements for immigrants to access various social welfare benefits enjoyed by Korean citizens.
Approximately one-third of the respondents (33.4 percent) stated that working and paying taxes in South Korea for 12 months is sufficient for immigrants to access social benefits.
Meanwhile, 26.3 percent believed that immigrants should first become naturalized citizens, and 24.3 percent believed that acquiring a residence permit is necessary to access social benefits.
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
