The number of marriages between South Korean nationals and foreign spouses set a new record low last year amid the COVID-19 pandemic, data showed.

A total of 13,926 transnational couples tied the knot here in 2021, down 13.9 percent, or 2,251, from a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea. They accounted for 7.2 percent of all marriages.

It marked the lowest reading since 2008, when the statistics agency started to compile related data.

The decrease came as the pandemic has restricted cross-border travel since early 2020. In 2019, the number of such marriages reached 24,700, rising on-year for three consecutive years. (Yonhap)