S. Koreans increasingly cautious about emigration amid economic woes

SEOUL, May 7 (Yonhap) -- The number of South Korean emigrants almost halved last
year from a year earlier, presumably due to the global economic crisis, according
to the foreign ministry's white paper released Thursday.

A total of 2,293 people emigrated to foreign nations in 2008, down 44.4 percent
from 4,127 in the previous year, it showed.
The number of South Korean tourists going abroad also decreased to 12 million
last year from 13.3 million in 2007.
On the other hand, 3,763 South Koreans returned to their homeland in 2008 after
living overseas as immigrants, an increase from 3,443 the year before.
Meanwhile, the number of South Korean residents in foreign nations stood at 7
million as of May 2007. That number breaks down to 4 million in Asia, 2.34
million in the United States, 645,000 in Europe, 9,440 in the Middle East and
8,485 in Africa.
lcd@yna.co.kr
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