Foreign workers new engine for economic dynamism
By Tony Michell
During the last decade the number of foreigners living in Korea has grown from about 300,000 to over one million. Foreign workers have grown rapidly from 300,000 to 670,000 plus an estimated 300,000 illegal workers. These estimates do not necessarily include F visa foreigners who have residence through marriage to Koreans, many of whom may be economically active either in household economies, farms or in business.
Think of any stated public policy goal: faster economic growth, support for small and medium sized industries, encouraging foreign investment, creating an open and diverse society, making Seoul an international city, labor flexibility or keeping industry on shore, through regional development and handling an ageing society and workforce. In each case the contribution of foreign workers to Korean policy and to Korea’s continued development is significant.
Korea is not the first country to have enjoyed the benefits of guest workers and immigration. Western Europe, during its full employment years of the 1960s, encouraged the growth of “guest
Jun 23, 2010
