[Exclusive] Forbidden Territory of Foreign Workforce Opens After 17 Years... Plant Construction Also Hiring

Labor Shortage Due to Aging Workforce
Employment of Foreign Simple Laborers
Decision to Add Plant Sector

After 17 years of being blocked, the hiring of foreign workers in the construction plant industry will become possible. The government has decided to add the plant sector to the industries where foreign simple labor workers (E-9 visa holders) can be employed. This decision comes from the urgent need to expand foreign labor to resolve the chronic manpower shortage in the plant industry.

According to a comprehensive report by Asia Economy on the 29th, the government has settled on adding the plant sector (businesses that supply facilities or build factories capable of producing products such as petroleum and gas) within the construction industry?where foreign employment (E-9) was previously not allowed?to the list of industries permitting foreign employment. This plan will be finalized at the 41st Foreign Workforce Policy Committee meeting scheduled for next month. A government official stated, “It was supposed to be approved at this month’s Foreign Workforce Policy Committee meeting, but considering labor union concerns, the policy has been carefully reviewed. Since most government departments have reached a consensus, it is expected to be approved as early as next month.”

Currently, foreign workers can be employed in all construction projects. However, an exception clause exists for plant construction businesses?such as power plants, steel mills, and petrochemical construction sites?that hold construction licenses for industrial and environmental facilities. Employment of foreign workers is restricted at plant construction sites. This was decided at the 7th Foreign Workforce Policy Committee in February 2007, where it was resolved that “petrochemical and plant construction projects with no record of employing foreign workers, through consultations with government departments and labor-management organizations, will be excluded from permitted foreign worker employment.” The purpose was to prevent the leakage of national security technologies.

Severe Labor Shortage in the Industry... "We Cannot Leave It As Is"

However, the ban on foreign employment at plant sites for 17 years has led to a severe manpower shortage in the industry. Domestic workers continue to avoid construction jobs, and combined with the aging of production personnel, difficulties such as slower work speeds on site have intensified. Despite this, only domestic employment is allowed, making recruitment extremely difficult. Another government official said, “The difficulties at industrial sites are understood to be very serious,” adding, “It seems impossible to let the labor shortage at these sites continue as time passes.”

Voices from the construction industry are growing louder, warning that without lifting the foreign employment ban, project delays are inevitable. In particular, the S-Oil ‘Shaheen Project,’ a massive project worth 9 trillion won, requires up to 17,000 workers per day, but the plant employment restrictions have made labor supply difficult. The shortage of workers on site is causing challenges for the project. Earlier, Hyundai Construction also won the contract for the Neom City construction project in Saudi Arabia, valued at about 6.5 trillion won, and there were many calls from the construction industry for urgent regulatory relaxation due to significant labor shortages.

The government continues to take measures in response to ongoing foreign labor demands, especially in industries experiencing manpower shortages. Previously, on the 27th, the government decided at the 2024 Foreign Workforce Policy Committee to increase the scale of foreign workers introduced under the Employment Permit System by 45,000 (37.5%) from this year’s 120,000 and to allow employment permit system workers in three new industries starting next year: restaurants, forestry, and mining. The Foreign Workforce Policy Committee includes the Prime Minister’s Office, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Employment and Labor, Ministry of Strategy and Finance, and Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

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