SEOUL - The number of Chinese people living in the Republic of Korea (ROK) exceeded 600,000 for the first time last month, accounting for nearly half of all foreigners in the country, the Ministry of Justice said Wednesday.

As of the end of November, the number of Chinese residents, including illegal immigrants, stood at 606,408, up from 597,000 in October, accounting for 48 percent of some 1.25 million foreign residents in the country, the ministry said.

The Chinese also accounted for a majority of marriage immigrants. Of some 140,000 marriage immigrants in the country, 66, 000, or 47 percent, are Chinese.

The number of Chinese visitors to South Korea between January and November this year rose 43.9 percent over the same period last year to around 1.62 million. Japanese visitors, however, decreased 0.8 percent to 2.8 million.