Nearly half of SMEs seek more foreign workers amid labor shortages

Foreign workers wearing traditional Vietnamese hats called non la harvest potatoes at a farm in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, July 23. Yonhap

More than four out of 10 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Korea want to hire more foreign workers and see the maximum annual quota raised, a survey showed Wednesday.

The survey, conducted by the Korea Employers Federation (KEF), comes as SMEs increasingly struggle to secure domestic labor, with more than six out of 10 saying they rely on foreign workers to fill the gap.

The poll covered 312 companies with fewer than 300 employees in the manufacturing, construction and service sectors. These areas are heavily reliant on manual labor and have been hiring foreign workers under the Employment Permit System with E-9 visas.

Among the 312 firms, 45.2 percent said future quota for foreign workers should be higher than this year's, which currently stands at 130,000, down from an all-time high of 165,000 in 2024.

Another 43.6 percent said the quota should remain the same, 8.3 percent said it should decrease and 2.9 percent supported removing the cap entirely.

By industry, 46 percent of manufacturing firms and 48 percent of construction firms said the number of E-9 visa workers should be increased.

In the service sector, 52.8 percent of companies favored maintaining the current level.

When asked why they hire foreign labor, 61.5 percent cited difficulties in recruiting domestic workers, up from 34.5 percent in 2024. Other reasons included lower labor costs at 21.5 percent and lower turnover at 7.7 percent.

“The data suggests that SMEs are not hiring foreign workers merely to save costs, but because of labor shortages that directly affect their survival,” a KEF official said.

Regarding policy improvements, 46.2 percent of survey participants suggested a more flexible workforce supply that responds rapidly to changing economic conditions, 38.1 percent suggested more flexible foreign worker stay periods and 26.6 percent suggested expanding the number of foreign workers.

“Foreign workers have already become essential personnel at domestic industrial workplaces. There is a need to shift to a flexible foreign labor supply system that can quickly respond to on-site demand,” the official added.