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Number of naturalized Koreans rebounds to surpass 11,000 last year

Published: 04 Feb. 2026, 13:44 Updated: 04 Feb. 2026, 18:35

A family of naturalized Korean citizens take a commemorative photo with a Ministry of Justice official on Aug. 12, 2025. [YONHAP]

The number of new naturalized Korean citizens exceeded 11,000 last year, the highest since the Covid-19 pandemic years, the Ministry of Justice said Wednesday.

According to ministry statistics, 18,623 foreign nationals applied for naturalization, with 11,344 successfully obtaining Korean citizenship.

The number of new naturalized Koreans reached a record high of 13,885 in 2020, up from 9,914 in 2019, amid a surge in the number of foreigners willing to stay in Korea for a long time due to pandemic-related restrictions on international travel.

Afterward, the annual number decreased to 10,895 in 2021 and 10,248 in 2022 but rebounded to 10,346 in 2023 and 11,008 in 2024.

Chinese nationals made up the largest portion of new naturalized Koreans at 56.5 percent, or 6,420, last year, followed by Vietnamese at 23.4 percent, Filipinos at 3.1 percent and Thais at 2.2 percent, the ministry noted.

The number of people who regained Korean citizenship after losing it increased from 3,607 in 2024 to 4,037 last year. The number of people who lost or renounced their Korean citizenship last year was 25,002, down 5.6 percent from 26,494 in the preceding year.

Yonhap