(KPL/Yonhap) The number of foreign nationals working in the Republic of Korea has reached a record high, surpassing the 1 million mark for the first time, with a majority of them employed at small and medium-sized enterprises, data showed Tuesday.

As of May, 1.01 million, or 64.7 percent, of 1.56 million foreigners aged 15 and older residing in the country had jobs, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.

The figure reflects an increase of 87,000 individuals, or 0.2 percentage point, from a year earlier.

Of the foreign laborers, 73.2 percent worked at companies with fewer than 50 employees each, followed by 24.1 percent working at companies with their respective workforce coming to between 50 and 299.

A mere 2.7 percent had a job at large companies, those with more than 300 employees, the data showed.

The employment distribution for foreign workers has remained relatively unchanged over the past decade.

In 2012, 79.1 percent of foreign employees worked at small companies, while 3.4 percent were employed at large corporations, according to Statistics Korea. The agency began compiling relevant data in 2012.

By nationality, 33.8 percent, or the largest share, were ethnic Koreans with Chinese nationality, followed by Vietnamese at 12.2 percent and Chinese 4.2 percent.

Around 51.2 percent of all foreigners here earned a monthly income of between 2 million and 3 million won (US$1,392-$2,089), followed by 37.1 percent making more than 3 million won, the data showed.

KPL