Gyeonggi Province plans to abolish immigration bureau — Korea Herald

Authorities in South Korea’s Gyeonggi Province plan to abolish the separate Bureau of Immigrant Society as part of a reorganization and cost-cutting measures. Its functions are to be transferred to a larger unit responsible for gender equality and family policy. The changes may take effect on January 1 after approval by the Gyeonggi Provincial Council, Korea Herald reports.

The unit had operated since 2024

The bureau was established in July 2024. It became South Korea’s first specialized local government unit intended to support foreign residents and immigrant integration. Its work covered policies for migrants who arrived in the country through marriage, foreign workers, international students and naturalized citizens.

The bureau’s initiatives included improving housing and working conditions for migrant workers, attracting qualified foreign specialists, supporting international students, helping children of foreign residents enroll in schools, and assisting migrant women who experienced violence.

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Criticism from civic organizations

Gyeonggi has the country’s largest number of foreign residents. According to 2024 data from South Korea’s Ministry of the Interior and Safety, there were 845,000 of them — nearly twice as many as in Seoul, where 451,000 foreign residents lived. This category includes foreign nationals, naturalized Koreans and children of foreign residents born in the country.

The share of such residents in the province’s population was 6.1%, the second-highest figure in the country after South Chungcheong Province. Civic organizations and experts warned that abolishing the independent bureau could weaken integration programs and lower the priority of migrants’ needs that do not fall under family or gender policy categories.

In September, allocations for the bureau were reduced by 577 million won — from 17.98 billion to 17.4 billion won — in the second supplementary budget proposal submitted to the provincial council. The reorganization plan was presented amid a spending-cut policy pursued by Gyeonggi Governor Choo Mi-ae after she took office on July 1.