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By Jun Ji-hye
The government will ease visa rules for foreign workers in R&D and new industries such as artificial intelligence (AI) to more actively attract skilled foreign professionals as part of measures to secure a competitive edge in the rapidly changing global industry ecosystem, officials said Wednesday.
The government will also create a "digital nomad visa" that would allow skilled foreign IT workers to stay here even if they do not work for companies based in Korea.
A foreigners' policy committee chaired by Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun finalized the decisions during a meeting earlier in the day, saying the measures, which will be pursued this year, will also be aimed at bracing for a continued decrease in Korea's population, accompanied by a growing number of elderly people, resulting in declines in the number of workers.
Members of the committee included the justice minister as well as vice ministers from the education ministry, foreign ministry and science ministry.
The committee said the government will grant additional points in visa screening procedures when the applicants hold intellectual property rights in foreign countries.
The government will ease the criteria for a D-8-4 visa for those seeking to establish companies here as long as the excellence of their technologies is recognized.
The government will also remove limits on the number of foreign workers to be employed by companies in new industry fields, such as AI and bioscience, in a bid to lower the barrier to foreigners' entry into domestic firms.
Other measures include the establishment of a new entry pass called the "digital nomad visa" for skilled foreign workers who generate a certain amount of income from abroad.
The new visa, which will be issued even to applicants not working for companies based in Korea, will allow them to stay here while working remotely, which is a growing trend.
"We expect this to help invigorate the country's tourism industry and promote cooperation with domestic companies," an official from the Office for Government Policy Coordination said.
Foreign residents welcomed the government's latest moves that would make it easier for foreign workers in promising sectors to live and work in Korea.
One foreign resident from the United States, who is currently working for an IT services company in Seoul, said the measures were "definitely a step in the right direction."
"I would like to commend the government for being more progressive with the digital nomad visa and allowing people to stay in Korea for a longer duration and contribute to the economy here over an extended period of time," he said.
But he raised the need for the government to set up a proper policy for verifying employers to make sure the new visa is not abused.
"This visa should not be used by backpackers who actually do not have funds coming in every month," he said.
American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM) Board of Governors Chairman Jeffery Jones also said the government's moves to more actively attract skilled foreign professionals would contribute to the country's economy.
But he added one thing that was missing in the latest measures was the reformation of the tax policies for foreign workers.
"Korea tends to impose heavier taxes on foreign workers, compared to Singapore and Hong Kong. To attract more skilled foreign professionals, tax benefits should be enhanced as well," he said.
Meanwhile, to help small manufacturing businesses as well as agricultural, fishing and dairy industries, which have faced deepening difficulties due to a lack of workers, the government will shorten the re-entry limitation applied to foreign workers to one month from the current three months.
The government will also allow foreign workers to extend their stay by up to one year if it is difficult for them to return to their homelands due to outbreaks of infectious diseases or natural disasters.
And the fact that 66 percent of foreign nationals are concentrated in Seoul has made it more difficult for local governments to attract foreign workers. To deal with this issue, the government will come up with a variety of measures to help them settle in areas outside of Seoul, officials said.
The measures come as dramatic population changes have already begun here. In 2020, the nation's population fell year-on-year for the first time, with deaths surpassing births, according to the latest census figures released by the Ministry of Interior and Safety.
The Korea Economic Research Institute earlier forecast that the country's population would drop by half to less than 25 million by 2060, while the Korea Development Institute predicted that the nation's potential growth rate would fall to 1.9 percent between 2031 and 2040, from 3.6 percent between 2011 and 2020.
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