Labor Ministry offers work permits to foreign workers at hotels and restaurants

With hotels in Korea suffering from dire labor shortages, the government has extended its work permit quota to accept 4,490 foreigners intending to work in the hotel and restaurant industries.

Dozens of foreign national workers enter Korea at Incheon International Airport in Incheon on July 13, 2022. [NEWS1]

With hotels in Korea suffering from dire labor shortages, the government has extended its work permit quota to accept 4,490 foreigners intending to work in the hotel and restaurant industries.

It marks the first time that restaurants and hotels have become eligible to offer work permits to foreign workers, similar to those offered for factory and agricultural farm work.

The Labor Ministry said it will extend its work permit quota to a total of 42,080 foreigners from April 22 to May 3.

Most of the available work permits will be allocated to the manufacturing industry, with 25,906 places, followed by the agricultural industry, with 4,955 places.

The service industry is the third most significant sector, having 4,490 issuable work permits for foreign workers.

As businesses in the service sector have faced operational difficulties due to labor shortages, the authorities allowed the industry to bring in foreign workers starting this year.

Each Korean restaurant can hire up to two foreign nationals on E-9 visas as kitchen assistants.

Hospitality businesses in Seoul, Busan, Gangwon and Jeju Island can employ up to 25 foreign nationals as cleaners and kitchen assistants depending on the number of Korean workers.

Business owners wishing to hire foreign workers can apply for work permits at the ministry’s regional employment and labor offices or via the state-run website, www.work24.go.kr.

The results on work permit allocation will be announced on May 21.

For the manufacturing and shipbuilding industry, permits will be issued from May 22 to 28. Permits for other sectors will be awarded from May 29 to June 4.

The government is expected to hand out 165,000 foreign nationals this year to overcome the country’s labor force shortages.

BY LEE SOO-JUNG [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr]