Korean Chinese account for nearly 70% of foreigners in Seoul

Nearly seven out of every 10 foreign residents in Seoul are Chinese of Korean descent, the metropolitan government said Sunday.

Out of the total number of foreign residents in Seoul as of the end of June, 186,631 people, or 66 percent, were of Korean ethnicity with a Chinese nationality, a census by the Seoul city government showed.

The latest headcount marks a growth of 8.84 percent from the end of 2010 and a 12.85 percent increase from end-June last year, according to the city government.

A total of 281,780 foreigners were residing in the capital city as of end-June, up 6.7 percent from the end of 2010, the population tally said.

The number of foreigners staying in the city for longer than 91 days as of June represented 2.67 percent of Seoul's total population of 10.57 million, according to the census.

Next to Korean Chinese, Chinese nationals represented the second biggest foreign population in Seoul with 29,901 residents, followed by Americans with 9,999 and Taiwanese with 8,717 as of the end of last June.

Meanwhile, the Korean population in the capital city dropped to 10.29 million as of end-June, down 0.24 percent from end-2010, the census showed.

Seoul's female population reached 98 for every 100 men as of end-June, showing a steady shrinkage since 2000 while people aged 65 or older accounted for 9.92 percent of the total Seoul population, according to the city. (Yonhap)