Gov’t unveils plan to update regulations, improve livelihoods

[Image source: Gettyimagesbank]

South Korea’s labor-starved restaurant industry finally gotten a long-awaited boost in the supply of foreign workers as the government decided to allow E-9 visa holders to work in the industry, raising prospects for a large influx of low-wage Southeast Asian labor in addition to the Korean diaspora from China and other countries.

The change was included in the Civil Regulation Innovation Plan announced by the government on Wednesday, which also overhauled 117 regulations that were deemed inconvenient by small and medium-sized enterprises as well as small business owners. It also improved 50 regulations that the public found inconvenient, as the government seems to focus on taking care of people’s livelihoods ahead of the general election in 2024.

The restaurant industry welcomed the news that foreigners on E-9 visas can now work in the restaurant industry. “The number of E-9 visas should be increased significantly, not incrementally,” a restaurant owner said. “That is the only way the benefits will be shared equally among the restaurant owners and the people who go to restaurants.”

But concerns were also raised over job conflicts with existing employees. “I’m worried that the influx of foreign workers into restaurants will affect salaries,” an overseas Korean from China who works at a restaurant in Yeouido, Seoul, said.

Experts, on the other hand, say that expanding the use of low-wage foreign labor in restaurants will help keep inflation in check. “Having cheap labor in the field could have a positive impact on controlling the cost of living,” Seok Byoung-hoon, a professor of economics at Ewha Womans University, said. “Some people are worried about the side effects of increasing the number of unskilled foreign workers, including the exodus of foreign workers, but it is premature to worry about the restaurant industry given the low demand for domestic labor.”

In the meantime, the government’s regulatory updates will also allow beekeeping in national forests across the country that are more than 5,000 times the size of Yeouido from the second half of 2024. More than 27,000 beekeepers nationwide have been pushing for permission to use national forests, which have a well-preserved natural environment and are suitable for keeping bees.

The regulation fining lodging operators for allowing boys and girls in the same room will also be relaxed. This follows complaints that youths often use fake or stolen identification to stay at hotels, making it difficult for business operators to verify the facts. The government has decided to exempt lodging operators from fines if they did attempt to verify whether the prospective guest is a teenager or not.

The government has also improved other regulations in response to public demand. Online sales will be authorized for contact lenses, which until now had to be purchased in person at optometrist stores or from websites outside Korea. Additionally, people who move to different regions will be allowed to use the same standard garbage plastic bags they used in the previous area, and Onnuri gift certificates will be able to be used even when they expire after five years.