As many parts of the world are reeling from a spike in COVID-19, the number of South Koreans diagnosed with COVID-19 overseas is also rising quickly.  

The Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that 577 South Korean nationals in 58 countries outside South Korea were confirmed to have been infected as of the previous day. The comparative figure as of early May was 107 in 24 countries. 

Two-hundred-30 of them tested positive in North and South Americas, while 120 others were in the Middle East. The Asia and Pacific region also produced 100 cases involving South Koreans, followed by Europe at 80 and Africa at 23. 

A senior official of the ministry said the statistics were drafted both through direct telephone surveys and indirect compilations by local Korean communities, expressing fear that there could be more cases given people's tendency to hide the fact they are sick. 

Six South Korean diplomats at overseas missions along with around 50 other employees in those offices were also known to have contracted the virus. 

Meanwhile, the number of South Koreans dying overseas from the virus also sharply increased to 23 from seven in early May.