South Korea saw its foreign population shrink by 3.2 percent in November last year from the previous year, the first such decline since 2006 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Interior Ministry said.

According to a report by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the number of foreign residents, defined as foreign nationals residing in the country for more than 90 days or naturalized Koreans and their children, stood at 2.15 million in November in 2020, compared with 2.22 million the same month a year earlier.

As of November last year, foreign residents made up 4.1 percent of the country’s total population.

It marks the first time the country has reported a fall in its foreign population since relevant statistics were first compiled in 2006. (Yonhap)