A Breath of Relief in Securing Skilled Foreign Workers for Industrial Sites

Jeonnam Province Continues to Urge Ministry of Justice
For Sharing 'Status of Foreign Workers under Employment Permit System'

Jeollanam-do landscape.
[Photo by Jeollanam-do]

There is hope for relief in rural farming and fishing villages and industrial sites that have struggled to secure skilled foreign workers.

On the 19th, Jeollanam-do announced that with the Ministry of Justice agreeing to provide local governments with ‘Employment Permit System (E-9, E-10, H-2) foreigner status information,’ the activation of the ‘Skilled Worker (E-7-4) Conversion Wide-area Recommendation System’ is expected to facilitate the influx and settlement of skilled foreign workers.

The Skilled Worker Conversion Wide-area Recommendation System is a project where the governor grants recommendation points to Employment Permit System foreigners who meet certain conditions, allowing them to convert to a long-term stay visa. Jeollanam-do explained that this was achieved after multiple appeals to the government.

Although the Ministry of Justice significantly expanded the quota for the wide-area recommendation system, it had not shared the status data of Employment Permit System foreigners eligible for conversion, making it difficult to inform and guide foreigners who meet the conversion requirements such as a stay period of over four years.

Jeollanam-do plans to use the provided status data to promote the Skilled Worker Conversion Wide-area Recommendation System to Employment Permit System foreign employment businesses and eligible foreigners and support visa conversion.

The skilled worker visa differs from the Employment Permit System visa in that it allows visa extension within Korea without having to return to the home country, and foreigners can invite their spouses and minor children, making it the first step visa for long-term stay in Korea.

The eligibility requirements for visa conversion are ▲having stayed in Korea for more than four years in the last 10 years under E-9 (non-professional employment), E-10 (seafarer employment), or H-2 (visiting employment) visas ▲recommendation from the company where the applicant has worked for at least one year as of the application date ▲an annual salary of 26 million KRW or more with a labor contract for the next two years ▲and having obtained Korean Language Proficiency Test level 2 or higher.

This year, Jeollanam-do’s recommendation quota is 308 people, and candidates are being recruited without allocation by city or county. Foreigners and employers needing recommendation points can apply by December 20 to the foreigner affairs department of the city or county where the company is located.

Jeollanam-do plans to support conversion to skilled worker (E-7-4) and regionally specialized visas (F-2-R, F-4-R) at the Jeonnam Immigration and Foreigners Comprehensive Support Center opening this month. Additionally, it will supplement the functions of the foreigner support center, which lost government support this year, and carry out tasks such as job matching support, settlement support programs, operation of an integrated call center, and establishment of a regional immigration policy network.

Kim Myung-shin, Director of Population, Youth, and Immigration at Jeollanam-do, said, "In a situation where the working-age population decreases by about 18,000 annually, skilled foreign workers are essential to local industrial sites."

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