The Korea Federation of SMEs Holds 'Foreign Workers K-POP Festival' at Seoul Land

8 Teams Advancing from Preliminary Round Compete in Part 1 Event
"Creating Opportunities for Foreign Workers to Recharge"

The Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business (Kbiz) announced on the 6th that it held the '2023 Foreign Workers K-pop Festival' at Seoul Land in Gwacheon on the 4th.

On the 4th, a team that passed the preliminary round is performing at the '2023 Foreign Workers K-POP Festival' held at Seoul Land in Gwacheon.
[Photo by Korea Federation of SMEs]

This event was organized to appreciate the hard work of foreign workers employed at domestic small and medium enterprises (SMEs) through the Employment Permit System (E-9 visa) and to encourage them as valuable personnel leading the Korean industry. The event, which had been suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, was held for the first time since 2018.

In the first part of the event, eight teams that passed the preliminary round competed. Foreign workers Ikbal Faisal (Bangladesh), Koko Chya (Myanmar), and Rivera Jose Luigi along with five others (Philippines) took first to third place respectively. In the second part, meal coupons and free admission tickets were provided to the foreign workers.

The Foreign Workers K-pop Festival was co-hosted by Kbiz, which is responsible for administrative support related to the Employment Permit System and employment education for foreign workers, and the Sarang Nanum Foundation, which carries out social contribution activities for SMEs. The event was supported by the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, the Ministry of Justice, and the Human Resources Development Service of Korea. Approximately 1,000 foreign workers participated in this event.

Lee Myung-ro, Head of the Human Resources Policy Division at Kbiz, stated, “Since COVID-19, domestic employment of foreign workers has actively increased, with the number of Employment Permit System holders surpassing 300,000 this year. The hiring of foreign workers by SMEs is expected to continue to grow next year as well. We believe that the happiness of each foreign worker is essential for the growth and development of SMEs, and we will continue to create opportunities for foreign workers to recharge.”

The Employment Permit System is a system that allows SMEs to legally employ non-professional foreign workers by obtaining an employment permit from the government. Introduced in August 2004, it marks its 20th anniversary this year. About 50,000 SMEs facing labor shortages in manufacturing, construction, services, fisheries, and agriculture and livestock industries are working together with foreign workers through the Employment Permit System.

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