Goodbye social distancing, hello labor shortages

Home > Business > Economy

print dictionary print

Goodbye social distancing, hello labor shortages

 
Customers wait in line at a restaurant in Jongno District, central Seoul at lunchtime on April 20, two days after most social distancing restrictions were lifted in the country. [YONHAP]

Customers wait in line at a restaurant in Jongno District, central Seoul at lunchtime on April 20, two days after most social distancing restrictions were lifted in the country. [YONHAP]

 
Restaurants and coffee shops are returning to normal as social distancing restrictions have been relaxed and customers return.  
 
These shops are struggling to staff their available positions, especially as it becomes more difficult for migrant workers to enter the country due to Covid-19 restrictions.
 
A restaurant owner in Gangnam, Seoul, had no choice but to limit business hours despite the surge in customers after the government lifted the business hour restrictions last month.  
 
"I need to employ seven people to operate until midnight as we did in the past," the owner said. "But we're always short two people."
 
"Even when I raise the hourly rate 20 percent, there's no one applying, and there are no foreign workers even if I want to hire, which leaves me no choice."  
 
A restaurant owner who owns four Korean barbecue restaurants in Gangnam and Yongsan Seoul has faced a bigger loss.
 
Only one floor of the two-story restaurant in Yeoksam-dong is open for business due to the labor shortage.  
 
"I told my foreign workers that I will pay them additional 200,000 won [$161] if they introduce friends who can work at the restaurant, but they all said there is no one," said the restaurant owner.
 
"I have increased the hourly wage rate to over 12,000 won."
 
The current minimum wage by law is 9,610 won per hour.  
 
Foreign workers lost during the Covid-19 pandemic have not returned yet, causing the restaurant and manufacturing businesses to suffer from labor shortage.  
 
According to the Korea Immigration Service at the Justice Ministry, the number of foreigners residing in Korea reached 1.98 million in April, an 18.2 percent decline from April 2019's 2.43 million before the Covid-19 outbreak.
 
The number of migrant workers in Korea plunged sharply.  
 
Foreign workers residing in Korea with Work and Visit (H-2) and Non-professional (E-9) visas dropped 54 percent or 136,017 and 20 percent or 55,477 less during the same period.  
 
Domestic consumption and the service sector that has been heavily affected by the pandemic started to recover late last year, and most social distancing restrictions have been lifted.  
 
But foreign workers have not come back to Korea.  
 
Among work visas, only the number of F-4 visas increased. These are for foreigners of Korean origin.  
 
The number of F-4 visa holders increased 6.9 percent between April 2019 and April 2022.
 
"The number of F-4 visa holders slightly increased as those on H-2 visa switched to F-4 visas," said a spokesperson for the Justice Ministry. "There are many foreigners who returned to their countries during the pandemic."  
 
The Justice Ministry official said that with the easing of the entry restrictions, it is possible for foreign workers to return to Korea, but there aren't enough flights.  
 
The increase in flight ticket prices is another obstacle for migrant workers returning to Korea.  
 
 
Even though the number of F-4 visa holders has increased, by law, these visa holders are prohibited from being hired for simple jobs, such as waiting on tables or working on production lines.
 
These shortages are a problem for smaller companies.
 
A manufacturing company that produces bolts and nuts in Cheonan, South Chungcheong, is rejecting orders as the company is not capable of producing on time due to the shortage of workers.    
 
"We need 20 workers for the assembly line to function, but there are only 12 migrant workers remaining right now," said Chung Han-sung, the CEO of the company.
 
"The production volume has increased even more than the pre-pandemic era, but the decline in numbers during the pandemic remains."
 
The company has relied on migrant labor for simple jobs, like working on the assembly line for long hours as there has been few Koreans applying for the jobs  
 
Industry insiders say there is a need to amend the current law in order to recruit more migrant workers.
 
According to Article 6 of the Act on The Employment of Foreign Workers, recruiters "who intends to employ a foreign worker should file an application for recruiting nationals first with an employment security office," under the Labor Ministry.  
 
If an employee is not hired for two weeks, the recruiter can then look for foreign workers through the same employment security office.
 
Recruitment of migrant workers can only be done through government institutions.  
 
This law is to protect domestic employment and prevent the employment of illegal aliens in Korea.  
 
"Local workers are not willing to work in such positions, and it is a huge loss to just sit and wait for two weeks," said a spokesperson for a small company.

BY JEONG JIN-HO [cho.jungwoo@joongang.co.kr]
Log in to Twitter or Facebook account to connect
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
help-image Social comment?
s
lock icon

To write comments, please log in to one of the accounts.

Standards Board Policy (0/250자)