Ministry of Employment Receives 10,000 Foreign Worker Employment Permit Applications... Easing Labor Shortage

by Mun Jewon

Published 18 Sep.2022 12:00(KST)

Job posting at an employment agency in Daerim-dong, Guro-gu, Seoul [Image source=Yonhap News]

The Ministry of Employment and Labor announced on the 18th that from the 19th to the 29th, employment permit applications for 10,000 newly introduced non-professional foreign workers (E-9) will be accepted nationwide through employment centers.

This follows the decision made on the 31st of last month by the Foreign Workforce Policy Committee to expand the quota for new foreign worker entries by 10,000.

Since the beginning of this month, the Ministry of Employment and Labor has been actively guiding employers through employment centers and the Foreign Worker Employment Permit System website to complete preliminary procedures such as efforts to recruit domestic workers.

When allocating the new foreign workforce this time, institutional improvements aimed at resolving employment difficulties by industry, as decided by the Foreign Workforce Policy Committee, will also be applied.

The total employment limit for small and medium manufacturing industries and agriculture, livestock, and fisheries will be increased by 20-25%, and the issuance limit for new employment permits will be raised by 1-2 persons.

For manufacturing industries, the re-entry special case will also be expanded to workplaces with 100 or more employees. This is a system that shortens the re-entry restriction period (from 6 months to 1 month) and exempts the Korean language test for foreign workers who have worked at the same workplace for a certain period when the employer has obtained permission for the re-entry special case.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor is promoting the prompt entry of foreign workers on the waiting list who could not enter due to COVID-19 and those with employment permits this year to restore the foreign workforce situation to pre-COVID-19 levels.

In response to the expansion of foreign workforce introduction, measures to protect the human rights of foreign workers, such as strengthening employer responsibility for occupational accidents and employment permit requirements, are also being implemented simultaneously. In October and November, intensive guidance and inspections will be conducted targeting 1,500 workplaces employing foreign workers.

Kim Eun-cheol, Director of International Cooperation at the Ministry of Employment and Labor, said, "We hope that the newly allocated foreign workers will provide some help to employers struggling with labor shortages," adding, "We will do our best to ensure that employment permits and early entry proceed smoothly."