Ministry of Justice Unveils Foreign Policy Measures... Can They Solve the 'Population Gap'?

Announcement of 9 Policies Over 40 Days

The Ministry of Justice has attracted attention by consecutively introducing policies to revitalize the attraction of foreign workers, starting with the 'International Day' ceremony on May 19. From the 19th to the 29th of last month, it announced plans to review or promote nine policies related to foreigners over about 40 days.

Looking into the details of the policies, the background, expected effects, and objectives are clear. The goal is to fill the large population gap, which has become so severe that society struggles to function properly, through the active participation of foreigners, and in the process, attract outstanding talents who can contribute to the country. This move has drawn even more attention as it comes amid growing concerns over the acceleration of South Korea’s 'population cliff' phenomenon due to low birth rates and aging.

A street in Insadong bustling with foreigners. The Ministry of Justice announced that it is promoting or reviewing nine foreigner-related policies throughout June. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

Han Dong-hoon, Minister of Justice, said at the 'International Day' ceremony, "In the future, countries that expand voluntary social participation of foreigners and promote foreigner policies that resonate with the public will lead the world, and I hope South Korea will be such a country." He emphasized, "We will actively attract outstanding talents necessary for our economic growth to secure South Korea’s future growth engines."

Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon [Image source=Yonhap News]

First, changes were made starting from Incheon International Airport, the gateway to South Korea. The Ministry announced plans to proactively improve the immigration inspection environment so that foreigners can undergo entry inspections quickly and conveniently. During congested hours, additional inspectors will be deployed, and immigration inspection lanes that finish quickly for nationals will be converted for foreigners, with improvements to the computer system speed as well. Starting from the 3rd of next month, to improve the convenience of using electronic travel authorization required for nationals of visa-free entry countries, the validity period will be extended from 2 years to 3 years, and youths under 17 and seniors over 65 will be excluded from the electronic travel authorization application.

In rural farming and fishing areas, industrial sites, and universities where manpower supply is urgent, the environment was improved to actively attract verified outstanding talents. The stay period for foreign seasonal workers employed in rural farming and fishing areas during sowing and harvesting seasons was extended from the existing 5 months to up to 8 months by allowing a one-time extension of up to 3 months. In industrial sites, the required work period for foreign workers skilled in long-term simple labor to change their residence status was reduced from 5 years to 4 years. Also, the standard for companies to employ foreigners was changed from a maximum of 8 skilled workers regardless of company size to allowing employment of foreigners within 20% of the company’s Korean employee count, depending on company size. Regarding this, Minister Han explained to President Yoon Seok-yeol at the National Fiscal Strategy Meeting the day before, "We will significantly expand the quota for skilled workers from 2,000 last year to over 30,000 this year." He also emphasized, "Resolving manpower shortages in the corporate field is an important short-term task."

The '2021 Foreign International Student Job Fair' was held at SETEC in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Foreign international students are attending interviews. Photo by Asia Economy DB

To assist regional universities struggling with a shortage of students, the foreign student visa system will also be improved. The financial capability assessment criteria required for issuing study visas will be lowered, and foreign workers will be allowed to concurrently engage in domestic study activities. The methods to prove Korean language proficiency for foreign students will be diversified beyond the Korean Language Proficiency Test to include completion of the Ministry of Justice’s social integration program and Korean language courses at Sejong Institutes. There was also a case where the stay period of a foreigner A, who reported foreigners suspected of terrorism risks to the police and cooperated in evidence collection activities, was extended. Minister Han stated, "If there are similar cases, the contribution to the decision on foreigner residence status will be sufficiently reflected."

While opening our doors, attention is also being paid to securing social safety nets by cracking down on foreigners illegally staying in the country. This is to prevent side effects that may occur when foreigners flood into our society like a tide.

Since the 12th, the Ministry of Justice has been conducting joint crackdowns on illegal foreign residents. The crackdown will continue until the 31st of next month. The National Police Agency, Ministry of Employment and Labor, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and Korea Coast Guard are also participating. The focus is on cracking down on foreigner crimes such as drugs and brokers involved in illegal entry and employment mediation. In the first joint crackdown in March and April, the Ministry of Justice detected 7,578 illegal foreign residents and workers, and deported 6,864 of them.

The Ministry of Justice views the situation as urgent, as the number of illegal residents staying in the country has hit record highs for three consecutive months. According to statistics from the Immigration and Foreign Policy Headquarters of the Ministry of Justice, the number of illegal residents rapidly increased from 414,045 in March to 417,852 in April and 422,107 in May. Amid many victims from multiple 'jeonse fraud' cases earlier this year, starting from the 14th, the 'Foreign Resident Confirmation Document Viewing and Issuance System' was also implemented, allowing verification of whether foreigners have registered their residence at a new address before moving in. This system was introduced to prevent unexpected disadvantages when purchasing, leasing, or setting mortgage rights on housing due to failure to confirm foreign resident registration.

Investment by foreigners was partially restricted to improve the environment. From this day, the public interest project investment immigration system raised the investment threshold. This system grants residence or permanent residence status with economic activity freedom to foreigners who invest capital in public interest funds designated and announced by the Minister of Justice. It is divided into general, retirement, and high-amount categories. The Ministry of Justice decided to raise the general investment immigration threshold from 500 million KRW to 1.5 billion KRW, and the high-amount threshold from 1.5 billion KRW to 3 billion KRW. The retirement investment immigration will be abolished. Since the retirement investment immigration has a low investment threshold of 300 million KRW and targets those aged 55 and older, the Ministry judged that maintaining the system is unnecessary considering future welfare costs.

A Ministry of Justice official said, "This can be seen as part of the policy direction to implement foreigner policies that meet global standards."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.