Korea to remove regulations to resolve labor shortage

Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, center, presides over the 4th conference on regulatory innovation and strategy in Seoul on Aug. 24. [Photo by Yonhap]

The South Korean government has launched efforts to remove regulations that have hindered business investment. In an effort to resolve labor shortage at industrial sites, the government has decided to allow non-specialized foreign workers to work for 10 years after entering the country and drastically reduce sectoral restrictions at 1,274 industrial complexes nationwide.

Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol presided over the 4th conference on regulatory innovation and strategy in Seoul on Thursday and said, “Investment-killing regulations should be removed at a rapid pace for the sake of the private economy.”

Yoon also said that the “government’s important role is to create a fair and efficient market, and regulatory innovation must be supported.”

The government started Thursday by removing six of the top 15 investment-killing regulations that were earlier selected.

The Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Employment and Labor have overhauled the system to increase the influx of foreign workers amid a shrinking population and job vacancies. Non-specialist foreign workers with E-9 visas were previously required to leave the country after working for four years and 10 months, but they will now be allowed to work for 10 years without leaving the country.

In addition, the quota for skilled laborers with E-7-4 visas, which was about 2,000 last year, will be increased 17.5 times to 35,000 this year, and the E-9 quota will be increased to 120,000 from 110,000.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport will expand the range of sectors that can move into industrial complexes to actively encourage high-tech and new industry companies to move in and invest. Currently, about 120,000 companies are located at 1,274 industrial complexes nationwide.

The Korea Institute for Industrial Economics & Trade estimated that the easing of industrial complex entry regulations will generate more than 24.4 trillion won ($18.42 billion) investment over 10 years. The Ministry of Environment also decided to ease regulations on the Act on Registration and Evaluation of Chemical Substances and the Chemical Substances Control Act.