Naturalizations hit record high in 2009: ministry

SEOUL, Jan. 15 (Yonhap) - South Korea naturalized a record 25,044 foreigners as
its citizens in 2009, the highest number in its history, a government ministry
said Friday.
The Justice Ministry said the number of foreigners granted Korean citizenship
more than doubled last year from 11,518 recorded in 2008, due largely to a surge
in the number of foreign women marrying Korean men.
In 2007, the figure stood at 8,536, it noted.
The cumulative number of naturalized citizens in South Korea totaled 80,832, with
the first case of naturalization reported in 1957, the ministry said.
Among the countries of origin, China topped the list with 19,432, followed by
Vietnam with 3,762 and the Philippines with 815, the report said.
Of the total, 68 percent were granted citizenship after marrying a South Korean
citizen, and 78 percent of those were female, it noted.
The ministry said it has been expediting the procedures for naturalization.
"We are shortening the naturalization process to help foreigners settle down in
the country as soon as possible," an official at the ministry said.
ejkim@yna.co.kr
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