[Second Half Economic Policy] Reorganizing 'Foreign Worker Policy' to Prepare for Declining Labor Population

2023 Second Half Economic Policy Direction
Establishment of a Pan-Government Foreign Policy Promotion System
Preparation of Foreign Policy Reform Measures Including Extension of Employment Visa Stay Period
Introduction of Innovative Regulatory Exceptions in Population Decline Areas

We have truly entered the endemic era. Our daily lives, overturned by the COVID-19 virus, are rapidly recovering. Insadong, which was once left with only banners expressing the pain of self-employed workers on gloomy streets, is now bustling with the energy of foreign tourists as if nothing had happened. Even the sight of people wearing masks has become an unfamiliar scene. COVID-19 is quietly fading into a distant memory for us. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

The government is reshaping its foreign immigration and visa policies to prepare for population decline. The plan is to reform the visa system to allow more foreigners to settle and work in Korea, thereby expanding the supply of foreign labor. It also intends to establish a groundbreaking regulatory special case system to attract foreign settlement and investment in depopulated areas, along with other response measures.

On the 4th, the government announced the "2023 Second Half Economic Policy Direction," which includes these measures. According to the plan, to strengthen social and economic capacity to respond to demographic changes such as low birth rates, the government will establish a pan-government foreign policy promotion system by the fourth quarter. The policy reform plan, referencing overseas cases, will include extending the stay period for foreign work visas, expanding eligible industries, introducing a total quota system for work visas (for skilled professionals, etc.), and measures to increase skilled labor.

The government’s move to revise foreigner policies comes from the assessment that labor shortages caused by a decreasing working-age population are becoming severe. In particular, small and medium-sized enterprises, which have long suffered from chronic labor shortages, have demanded an expansion of quotas for visas without stay period restrictions, such as the "Foreign Skilled Worker Points-Based Visa (E-7-4)." In response, the government has decided to increase the quota from about 1,000 to nearly 30 times starting in the second half of the year.

Additionally, the government plans to expand the region-specific visa program, which has been piloted, starting in the fourth quarter to increase the number of settled foreigners. The region-specific project is a foreign settlement support initiative introduced by the Ministry of Justice to address regional population decline. Local governments selected for the pilot project can select outstanding foreign talents within their regions to receive residence visas.

Furthermore, the government will prepare groundbreaking regulatory special cases for depopulated areas as a countermeasure against population extinction. Plans include expanding long-term employment of foreign workers in farming and fishing villages, improving settlement conditions through institutionalizing telemedicine, easing land use regulations, and providing benefits for investment in new corporate establishments to attract investment. The population policy promotion system will be integrated under the "Low Fertility and Aging Society Committee" and the "Population Policy Planning Group" to promote a pan-government response.

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