Foreign job seekers hit 15-year high on back of visa rule changes

The number of foreigners coming to Korea for jobs posted the second-highest total since data was first collected at 173,000, with the government actively seeking to ease the visa process.

Students get information from advisers at an employment fair designated for jobs linked to the Regional Specialization Foreign Talent F-2-R visa. [SONG BONG-GEUN]

The number of foreigners who came to Korea to find jobs last year was the second highest since data was first tracked in 2000.

This was mainly due to an increase in eligible potential job seekers due to the relaxation of visa regulations, according to Statistics Korea on Thursday. A total of 173,000 people — 36 percent of the 480,000 foreigners who came to Korea last year — came for employment reasons, according to the statistics agency's data. This was up 25.5 percent from the 138,000 people who came in 2022, and was the largest figure recorded in 15 years since the 176,000 in 2008.

Statistics Korea said the influx was mainly driven by policy changes such as those that attracted expatriates, the quota increase for E-9 visas and the expansion of the Employment Permit System (EPS), which is designed to help small- and medium-sized companies legally hire foreign workers.

The number of foreigners coming to Korea looking for jobs hit a 15 year high since 2008 and the second highest since data was compiled from 2000. [NAM JUNG-HYUN]

The number of E-9 visa holders who came to Korea was up 4 percent, or 3,000 people more, in 2023 compared to 2022. Notably, there was a significant on-year jump in holders of the E-7 visa, which is required for personnel employed for professional positions: up 206.6 percent from 4,000 in 2022 to 11,000 in 2023.

The Ministry of Justice increased the annual quota for E-7-4 visas from 2,000 to 35,000 in 2022, and the government plans to bring in a record 165,000 nonprofessional migrants under the EPS this year.

The net migration rate, meanwhile, was 161,000, falling from the record-high 168,000 posted in 2022. There was a net inflow of 121,000 people in 2023, an increase of 3,300 from 2022. More foreigners left Korea, up 11.4 percent on year, but the amount coming in offset those departing at an increased rate of 15.2 percent.

The number of foreigners who came for studies or training, however, dropped on year from 89,000 people in 2022 to 83,000 in 2023.

Over the recent years, the government and private sector have stepped up efforts to bring in more workers from abroad to offset the increasingly dwindling and aging population, aggravated by Korea’s plummeting birthrate.

Policies implemented in 2024 or planned for next year include changes to the categorization of visa applications as well as a broadening of employment opportunities for foreign students in nonprofessional sectors and an extension of the duration of job-seeking visas.

The Yoon Suk Yeol administration on July 3 pledged to more than double the number of overseas professional workers in Korea from 72,000 as of last year to 150,000 by 2035 as part of the government’s multiyear plan to bolster economic growth. Plans include a change in the visa system, enabling foreigners to work in the domestic labor and child care sectors.

Despite the amendment to immigration policies, experts and activists have cautioned that more broad and long-term improvements are needed, especially in social reception, safety measures and comprehensive policies that will retain the foreign workers.

A deadly fire at an Aricell battery manufacturing factory in June that killed 23 people, mostly foreign migrant workers, exposed the risks facing the demographic. While Korea has begun offering long-term residency visas for scientists and engineers, students without a science, tech, engineering and mathematics background have had difficulties securing a permanent stay.

BY KIM JU-YEON [kim.juyeon2@joongang.co.kr]