Korea to tighten language screening for migrant workers, citing safety risks

A foreign participant practices Korean calligraphy during a contest at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul on Hangeul Day, Oct. 9, 2025. Newsis

Korea is tightening Korean-language screening for incoming migrant workers under its Employment Permit System, placing greater emphasis on speaking skills amid concerns that language barriers can contribute to worksite accidents and hinder communication at factories, farms and construction sites that increasingly rely on foreign labor.

The Human Resources Development Service of Korea, a public agency under the Ministry of Employment and Labor, announced Monday that it will revise the interview and skill test used in the points-based selection process for E-9 visa workers.

The changes follow the agency's recent study of employers’ views on the Korean-language proficiency of their E-9 workers. The survey found that nearly half of employers were dissatisfied with the Korean language abilities of their workers, citing particular difficulties in their ability to understand work instructions (48.9 percent) and safety rules (37.6 percent).

Growing concern over industrial accidents involving foreign workers is driving the shift.

Although they make up only about 3.4 percent of the workforce, foreign workers accounted for 9.2 percent of fatal industrial accidents in 2022, 10.4 percent in 2023 and 11.8 percent in the first half of 2024 — a pattern that prompted the National Human Rights Commission of Korea to call for corrective action last year. Studies show their fatality rate is roughly two to three times higher than that of Korean workers.

“We expect that the latest improvements to the selection and evaluation process will lead to stronger Korean proficiency and greater safety awareness among foreign workers,” said Lim Seung-mook, head of the agency’s international workforce division. “We will continue to advance the selection system to help build industrial worksites that are both safe and satisfying for employers and workers alike.”

In response, the agency has decided to increase the proportion of interview scores in the selection process and realign evaluation content to focus on comprehension of worksite instructions and safety awareness. The number of questions testing understanding of task-related vocabulary and job orders in specific industries will also be expanded, with the aim of ensuring that foreign workers are better suited for Korean worksites.

Furthermore, new in-depth safety questions will be introduced to ensure candidates recognize the importance of safety and correctly understand relevant rules before entering the country. At the same time, the minimum passing score on the Korean-language test will be raised across all industries, significantly tightening the standard for language proficiency.

The revised criteria will apply starting with this year’s evaluations and will be shared with 17 sending partner countries under the program, which allows small businesses in Korea to hire foreign nationals in sectors and jobs in which employers struggle to find Korean workers.

Beyond pre-arrival screening, the agency plans to bolster Korean language support on the ground. As part of the effort, it plans to overhaul the standard Korean language textbooks used by E-9 workers to better reflect specific industrial demands, strengthening job-related language training and adding learning content such as worksite photos.

The agency also intends to develop a new field-oriented Korean conversation book tailored to E-9 workers, featuring sector-specific safety content and images of key equipment.