Seoul: The number of employed foreign residents in South Korea has surpassed 1.1 million as of May last year, as reported on Monday. The report highlights a significant influx of foreign workers contributing to the nation's labor market.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the number of resident foreign workers with student visas, such as D-2, D-4-1, and D-4-7, rose to 56,000. This marks a substantial increase of 71.8 percent compared with May 2024, based on the report from the Korea Employment Information Service.

The report indicates that there were a total of 1,109,000 employed foreigners residing in South Korea as of May 2025, marking an increase of 99,000 from the previous year. By gender, men made up 68 percent of this population with 750,000 individuals, while women accounted for 32 percent with 360,000. The age distribution showed that individuals in their 30s represented the largest share at 33.2 percent, followed by those aged 15-29 at 25.7 percent, individuals in their 40s at 18.7 percent, those in their 50s at 13.5 percent, and those in their 60s at 8.9 percent.

Resident foreign workers holding nonprofessional employment (E-9) visas were the most numerous, totaling 321,000. The report notes a significant decrease in employed foreigners with E-9 visas from 2020 to 2022 due to the impact of COVID-19, but there has been a steep increase again since 2023.

By industry, the largest proportion of foreign workers was in mining and manufacturing, accounting for 44.9 percent. This was followed by wholesale and retail trade, and accommodation and food service sectors, which comprised 20.4 percent of the foreign workforce.