The amount of income earned and sent back to South Korea by South Korean citizens working overseas surged to a record high last year, central bank data showed Thursday, partly indicating a rise in the number of people going abroad for work.

    According to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK), the amount of income sent back to the country by those working overseas came to US$868.6 million in 2015, up 13.1 percent from $767.9 million in the previous year. The 2015 tally marks the highest level since the central bank began compiling relevant data in 1980. 

    Such a large increase was partly attributed to a rise in the sheer number of people working overseas. The number of South Koreans finding fresh overseas employment spiked 72.9 percent on-year to 2,903 last year, the labor ministry said earlier. 

    The number of people looking overseas for jobs apparently continues to grow with the amount of income wired back by overseas workers to their home country again jumping 13.6 % on-year to $99.9 million in January, according to the BOK.

    Meanwhile, the amount of money transferred by migrant workers in South Korea plunged 24.7 % on-year to $918.1 million in 2015. The country's deficit in the income account greatly shrank to $49.5 million last year, down from $451.5 million in the previous year and the lowest level since 2009.

Source: QNA