S. Korea to up foreign workers quota in 2023 to ease labor shortages

Logistics center in Seoul [Photo by Lee Chung-woo]

South Korea will likely increase the quota of foreign workers with non-professional employment (E-9) visas to 110,000 next year from the current 69,000 and allow more workplaces to hire foreigners in efforts to ease labor shortages in the logistics and delivery sectors.

According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor on Thursday, the government has decided to revise the Act on the Employment of Foreign Workers, which would reflect changes, such as an increase in the quota and an expansion of the permitted workforce category to include the logistics and delivery sectors. However, the government will likely allow logistics firms to hire migrant workers only for loading and unloading parcels.

The government will also allow foreign staff who are recognized as hard workers to extend their three-year stay under the E-9 visa by another one year and 10 months. These workers will also be eligible to receive re-entry visa at least one month after they return to their home countries, compared with the current six months. Still, workers will only be allowed to stay in Korea for as long as nine years and eight months.

The government introduced the quota system for non-professional foreign workers to ease labor shortages in small- and medium-sized companies in 2004. Manufacturing, construction, agriculture, fisheries, livestock and services have been allowed to hire foreign nationals under the quota system. However, the government is set to revise the system and related regulations from a long-term view due to labor shortages and aging population. In line with regulatory changes, it will streamline processes to speed up foreign nationals’ entry into the nation.