Work visa restrictions to ease to combat labor shortages

Economy

Published: 08 Mar. 2023, 17:37

Work visa restrictions to ease to combat labor shortages

A migrant worker in Pocheon, Gyeonggi in 2016. Small Korean manufacturers and farms as well as shipyards have been requesting the government to increase migrant workers due to labor shortage. [YONHAP]

The government plans to increase quotas and relax employment visas for foreigners to resolve Korea’s worsening shortage of non-skilled workers, especially in manufacturing.

The Employment and Labor Ministry announced Wednesday that it will raise the quota for non-professional E-9 visas to 110,000 this year, 41,000 more than in 2022.

The ministry particularly aims to get most E-9 visa holders to workplaces in the first half of the year by approving a minimum of 10,000 migrant workers a month.

Small businesses with 50 or less employees will be allowed to have 20 percent more foreign workers than the maximum limit through the end of the year.

Such companies can currently hire between six and 15 migrant workers, depending on the size of the firm.

The Employment and Labor Ministry is particularly focusing on the shipbuilding industry with plans to create a new non-professional E-9 visa quota exclusively for the industry.

The two-year exclusive quota in the shipbuilding industry will be temporary, and aims to place at least 5,000 foreign workers at Korean shipyards.

Last year, only 2,667 E-9 visa holders were assigned to work in the shipbuilding industry.

Shipbuilding has not had a separate quota thus far.

Instead, it has long been included in the manufacturing industry quota, set this year at 75,000, the largest share of the E-9 visa’s total quota of 110,000.

The 75,000 quota is 23,153 more than last year.

Though the government has yet to release details, the sojourn period for E-9 visas could be extended for people who have worked at the same company for a certain period.

E-9 visa holders currently may stay four years and 10 months, though they can reapply for another four years and 10 months if they leave Korea and file an application in their home countries.

E-9 visa holders will also get three to four weeks of training, including wielding and wiring.

For the shipbuilding industry, the government plans to speed up the application approval process for E-7 visas given to foreign professionals from four months to a month.

The government will boost the hiring of migrant workers in the so-called “root industries” at the heart of manufacturing, including wielding, casting and heat treating.

Key to the government’s plan it to raise the quota for E-9 visa holders who can upgrade to the skilled worker E-7-4 visa, which allows holders to bring their families to Korea and apply for permanent residency.

The quota for E-9 visa holders converting their visa status will be increased from 120 last year to 400.

The government also plans to allow holders of the H-2 visa, largely given to ethnic Koreans from countries such as China and the former Soviet Union, to work in logistics and delivery businesses, which requires heavy lifting.

This is because the number of people on H-2 visas dropped from between 220,000 and 280,000 from 2014 and 2019 to just 111,000 last August.

H-2 visa holders are currently restricted to employment in agriculture, fishery, manufacturing, construction and certain service sectors including wholesales and retails.

For restaurants, the government said it will relax job restrictions for F-4 visa holders, mostly ethnic Koreans with foreign citizenship, including Korean overseas adoptees.

F-4 visa holders currently may not work in the restaurant industry.

The government also said it will reconsider work hour restrictions on foreign students in Korea on D-2 visas.

Foreigners attending undergraduate university programs or a language institution may work up to only 20 hours a week.

Foreigners studying for higher degrees, including doctorates, may work up to 30 hours a week.

In the agricultural sector, the government plans to increase E-8 seasonal worker visas from 16,924 in 2022 to 24,418 this year.

The government said it will develop an online platform to make it easier to hire E-8 visa holders, as well as to help foreign farm workers find places to stay.

Employment and Labor Minister Lee Jung-sik, center, at a government economics meeting on Wednesday in Seoul. [YONHAP]

In the third quarter of last year, Korea’s labor shortage hit a new record of 185,000 unfilled positions.

That’s 15.4 percent of the 1.2 million people Korean companies hired during the period.

In the third quarter of 2021, the labor shortage amounted to 135,000.

Demand for workers has been especially high in the manufacturing industry, as well as transportation and storage.

The Covid-19 has had a profound impact on the entry of migrant workers to Korea as the country tightened border restrictions.

As a result, many industries that needed migrant workers, including small manufacturers and farms, suffered severe labor shortages.

Labor shortages grow more acute the smaller the business is.

Workplaces with less than 300 employees accounted for 93.7 percent of the businesses in dire need to workers.

The shipbuilding industry has suffered an especially severe labor shortage, coming at a time when orders are increasing.

The government expects labor shortages to only worsen as Korea’s population grows older faster.

The government estimates that by 2030, Korea will have 3.57 million fewer economically productive people.

The government announced other measures to combat labor shortages as well, including accelerated adoption of automated technologies — including robots — and smart technologies, as well as promotion vocational training for technology.

It also plans to relax regulations regarding taxi services.

However, some of the policies — including an exclusive E-9 visa quota for shipbuilding — require the consent of the National Assembly.

“The government will focus our support to six industries that suffer serious shortages of workers, including shipbuilding, health and welfare, as well as restaurants and farms,” said Lee Jung-sik, Minister of Employment and Labor during a government economic meeting held Wednesday.

“Past policies to combat the slowing job market mostly supplied short-term and temporary jobs, including government direct hiring projects and subsidizing employment by companies,” Lee said.

“The new measures are focused on vitalizing the labor market led by the private sector, filling labor shortages by matching demand with supply.”

Lee added that instead of artificially filing demand through simple cash subsidies, the current government aims to find fundamental solutions by improving job quality.

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