Number of foreign workers under Employment Permit System hits record high
Foreign workers harvest cabbage in Pyeongchang County of Gangwon Province, July 30. Yonhap
The number of foreign workers staying in Korea under the Employment Permit System (EPS) reached a record high of 287,424 this year, data showed Wednesday.
The EPS allows small and medium-sized businesses facing labor shortages to hire nonprofessional foreign workers, who are issued E-9 visas.
According to the data submitted by the labor ministry to Rep. Kim Wi-sang of the main opposition People Power Party, the number of foreign workers under the EPS reached the record figure as of July.
The number has been on a steady rise from 159,463 in 2021 and 203,121 in 2022 to 247,191 in 2023, 271,925 in 2024 and 282,839 last year.
By industry, 229,844 foreign workers, or an overwhelming 80 percent of the total, worked in the manufacturing sector.
The agriculture and livestock sector accounted for 33,878 foreign workers, or 11.8 percent, followed by fisheries with 15,441 (5.4 percent), construction with 6,724 (2.3 percent) and services with 1,410 (0.5 percent).
Rep. Kim said the excessive concentration of E-9 visa holders in the manufacturing sector underscores the need to overhaul the EPS, as the service industry and other sectors continue to face labor shortages.
The government had increased the annual quota for E-9 visa issuance under the EPS from 69,000 in 2022 to 120,000 in 2023 and 165,000 in 2024 before lowering it to 130,000 last year and 80,000 this year.
The reduced quotas and economic slowdown have led to a decline in local businesses' applications to hire EPS workers.