By Na Jeong-ju
Staff reporter

President Lee Myung-bak instructed his administration Thursday to revise regulations on the quota of foreign workers so that the country’s small- and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) suffering from manpower shortages can hire more foreigners.

Last year, the government slashed the number of work visas — H-2 and E-9 — issued to foreigners from 100,000 to 34,000 as part of measures aimed at providing more job opportunities for Koreans amid the sluggish job market.

However, SMEs have complained that they are having difficulty finding Koreans willing to do the jobs that were offered to foreign workers, and are turning to undocumented aliens.

“Manpower shortages have become a common problem among SMEs. It is getting serious and we need to do something urgently,” Lee said at a policy coordination meeting with senior economic policymakers at Cheong Wa Dae.

“The first thing to do is to increase the quota of foreign workers who can legally work here.”

The meeting largely focused on addressing the needs of SMEs in improving profitability and their business conditions, according to presidential spokeswoman Kim Hee-jung.

The government will map out a set of measures to protect SMEs by the end of August based on close consultations with the companies, officials said.

“Stressing the role of SMEs for sustainable economic growth, the President called for efforts to find mutually beneficial solutions for both conglomerates and their affiliated smaller firms,” Kim told reporters.

“To this end, Lee said large firms should deal more sincerely with their smaller partners and be willing to straighten out inappropriate business practices to seek co-prosperity with them.”

The president’s comment was the latest scathing remark against chaebol by the conservative leader.

When Lee visited a traditional marketplace in Hwagok-dong, Seoul, Sunday, he criticized consumer financing firms affiliated with chaebol and big banks for demanding “excessively high” interest from borrowers.

Early this month, he also expressed deep disappointment with conglomerates for “being inactive in investing and creating jobs,” and called for more administrative and financial support for SMEs.

Many analysts said such episodes suggest a significant change in Lee’s perception of conglomerates.