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Seoul to ease job and business restrictions for international students and foreigners

Published: 11 Mar. 2025, 17:51 Updated: 12 Mar. 2025, 15:15

An open forum was held at the Seoul City Hall on Tuesday to disccuss abolishing restrictive policies affecting foreigners and international students. [SEOUL METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT]

The Seoul Metropolitan Government pledged to ease regulations to allow international students to take part-time jobs and internships more freely while also assisting foreigners looking to start businesses in the city. The commitment was made during an open forum on Tuesday.

The forum, held at Seoul City Hall, brought together 24 foreigners — including university professors, entrepreneurs and students from 20 countries — to discuss restrictive policies affecting foreigners and international students. Participants raised concerns about inconvenient and discriminatory regulations, including visa policies, restrictions on foreign-led startups and challenges in student life.

The forum also reviewed around 100 policy revision suggestions submitted by citizens.

For international students in Seoul, one of the most pressing concerns was the restrictions on internships and part-time jobs, particularly the limitations on work hours and the types of businesses they can work for. Seoul is home to 69,000 international students, the largest number in Korea, accounting for 33 percent of the country’s total.

The city government pledged to address these concerns through its visa pilot program, emphasizing that such measures are necessary to “provide students with various job experiences before full-time employment and attract foreign talent.”

To tackle the lack of job platforms catering specifically to foreigners, the city announced plans to launch a dedicated section for them on K-Work, an online job listing platform for small and medium-sized businesses.

A new counseling service at the Seoul Global Center will also be introduced to assist foreigners with employment and visa status changes, the city government said.

In terms of business support, participants pointed out difficulties in securing office space — a requirement for obtaining the D-8-4 visa. The city government informed them that all businesses operating in Seoul can move into the city’s 23 startup support facilities and use those addresses as their official office locations.

Starting this year, the Seoul government also plans to offer office space at the Seoul Center for Creative Economy & Innovation to five foreign-led businesses.

Complex visa procedures and limited work scope for work visas were identified as the most urgent issue. The city said it would thoroughly review these concerns and coordinate with the Ministry of Justice to implement appropriate solutions.

The government also promised to expand multilingual services at support centers like the Seoul Global Center and on official websites to help foreigners with essential tasks such as opening a bank account or visiting a hospital.

BY WOO JI-WON [[email protected]]