Quotas to be ended in some visa categories, increased in others

Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho, second from left, heads a government economic emergency meeting in Seoul on Monday. [YONHAP]

Quotas will be abolished in some visa categories and increased in others as the government addresses worker shortages, especially in shipbuilding.

"The government will provide support so that the labor shortage will not be an obstacle to the economic recovery," Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho said Monday.

The quota on visas for skilled workers specializing in welding and the painting of ships will be lifted from next month. Currently, the quota for welders is 600 and ship painters 300.

Non-professional employment E-9 visa quotas for manufacturing will be increased from 10,480 to 16,480. The quota for farming and livestock related businesses will be increased from 1,624 to 2,224.

Regulations will be changed to allow those working on E-9 visas in shipbuilding to convert to an E-7 visa. E-7 visas are good for five years, while E-9 visas expire after three years.

The government said it will make efforts to speed the arrival of 42,000 foreign workers delayed by the pandemic and will bring in an additional 21,000 in the second half of the year.

Immigration reviews will be reduced from an average of 84 days to 39 days.

"While the job market situation is improving by quantity, there are industries that still struggle with worker shortages," Choo said. "As of June, there were 234,000 unfilled jobs, the most since February 2018."

A recent study found that manufacturing is short 74,000 workers, with shipbuilding alone short 48,000. Wholesales and retail businesses are short 30,000, while restaurants and hotels need 26,000.

Because of Covid-19 entry restrictions, 31,000 foreigner workers are awaiting visas in manufacturing, 6,000 in farming and 400 in shipbuilding.

The number of foreign workers in Korea at the end of 2019 was 277,000. That figure dropped to 218,000 at the end of last year. The government expects the figure to return to 264,000 by the end of this year.

This year, the foreign worker quota will be set in October, two months earlier than usual.

Employment and Labor Minister Lee Jung-sik added that the government will come up with plans to address labor shortages, especially in shipbuilding.

"The key problem in the labor shortage is the unfavorable working conditions and the dual labor market," Lee said. "We will push on with labor market reforms that will improve the market structure, changes the wage system and offer more choices in terms of working hours."

BY LEE HO-JEONG [lee.hojeong@joongang.co.kr]