Korea turns to foreign workers to ease labor shortage

Seoul Immigration Office [Photo by Park Hyung-ki]

South Korea is facing an extreme labor shortage due to a sharp drop in the working population and is looking to foreign workers to secure labor.

Concerns rise that the decline in the working age population aged between 15 and 64 will negatively affect the Korean economy in the long run. According to industry figures, Korea’s population is expected to decline to 47 million in 2050 from the current 52 million as a result of the world’s lowest birth rate. Half of the population are expected to be elderly people in 2070.

An owner of a metal factory in Pocheon, north of Seoul, recently put his wife and daughter on the list of employees. The move was made to hire more foreign laborers at the site where workers include 13 Koreans and 13 foreigners from Nepal, Myanmar, and Cambodia. Under the current law, the number of foreign workers should not exceed that of Koreans.

“We would have to close without the foreign workers,” he said.

The G7 countries, including the U.S. and Germany, also face similar concerns and as part of a solution are turning to immigration policies for a breakthrough. Canada, for example, where immigrants account for up to 20 percent of its entire population, saw its population go up by 1 million last year alone from the massive influx of immigrants.

The scene is different in Korea. Only 4.5 percent of its population are immigrants, which is less than half of the G7 average at 13 percent.

Some industry insiders note that Korea should also turn to immigrants to tackle the population decline and work on creating a multicultural society. They call on the government for policies that allow more foreign workers in the labor industry to prevent the economy from losing steam.

According to a survey conducted by pollster Mono Research on 1,000 men and women asking their views on the influx of foreign immigrants upon request by Maeil Business Newspaper on Wednesday, five out of 10 respondents said that the influx of immigrants will have a positive impact on the country’s economy and society.

More than half of the surveyed were optimistic about the promotion of immigration.

Maeil Business Newspaper plans to seek measures with the Migration Research & Training Centre under the Ministry of Justice to have Korea overcome the demographic crisis and create a more diverse society. This year marks 20 years since Korea adopted an employment license system, which is seen as the start of the immigration policy.

“We should put the puzzles of various immigration policies together to complete a big picture,” said Sohn Hong-kee, acting director of the Migration Research & Training Centre.