Public Attitudes in Korea Toward Immigrant Social Rights and Welfare Policies

Abstract

Drawing on data from the 2024 Survey on Social Cohesion, this article examines the attitudes held by Korean natives toward the social rights and welfare policies related to immigrants. When asked to what extent they thought the social rights of immigrants were respected, an overwhelming majority responded either “little” (2 points) or “to a point” (3 points), on a 1-4 scale. Groups with higher levels of income and education were more supportive of social rights for immigrants, a tendency also observed in other countries with well-developed welfare states. While support for extending the National Health Insurance to immigrants was high, providing livelihood benefits and child allowances was strongly supported only for permanent residents and marriage-based migrants. Citizens who had more frequent contact with immigrants were more likely to support granting them welfare benefits. Korean citizens’ support for extending welfare to immigrants was at about the same level as the European average. To further promote social integration, policy efforts should aim to increase contact between immigrants and natives, strengthen support for vulnerable native groups, and bring changes to discriminatory attitudes toward immigrant welfare.