New data shows that more and more new and unrecorded species of subtropical insects are being discovered in South Korea due to the effects of climate change. 

The National Institute of Biological Resources unveiled the data Tuesday after analyzing the numbers of subtropical insects found in the nation between 2020 and 2024. 

In line with a project to research and discover indigenous organisms, since 2020 the institute has been analyzing the percentage of subtropical insects among all the newly discovered insects in the nation. 

Subtropical insects made up four percent of the total in 2020, four-point-four percent in 2021, five percent in 2022, six-and-a-half percent in 2023 and a little over ten percent in 2024. 

Last year, 38 candidates for unrecorded species that live in subtropical climates were found in the southern parts of the Korean Peninsula. 

Of those, 21 species were found on Jeju Island recently.