Justice Ministry to boost skilled worker visa quota by 17 times

Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon, left, speaks during a meeting with foreign workers at Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries in Yeongam, South Jeolla Province, Monday. Yonhap

By Ko Dong-hwan

Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon said, Monday, that the government seeks to increase the number of visas for foreign skilled workers to 35,000 this year from 2,000 in 2022 ― marking a seventeen-fold growth ― to address labor shortages.

The plan was announced during Han's visit to local shipbuilder Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries in Yeongam, South Jeolla Province, where 21 percent of its 13,000 employees are foreigners.

Korea has traditionally been a powerhouse in the shipbuilding industry. But the sector is also struggling to find skilled workers.

Han said the justice ministry will open the doors further to talented foreigners who can contribute to Korea's economy.

“The Ministry of Justice has changed its approach to authorizing foreign workers and is making efforts to increase the quota for skilled workers (E-7) by about 17 times from 2,000 last year to 35,000,” Han said during his meeting with industry officials.

“We will create a flexible system that can contribute to our economy and society by accepting a wide range of talented foreign workers who can voluntarily contribute and assimilate to Korea.”

The minister also met eight foreign employees of the shipbuilder who are from Vietnam, Uzbekistan, Nepal and Thailand. Five of them were E-7 skilled worker visa holders and the rest came here on E-9 unskilled worker permits.

During a meeting with the minister, the foreign workers suggested expanding job opportunities in Korea, increasing access to Korean culture and improving negative perceptions about foreign workers.

“I saw here today how the ministry's recently updated visa policies are taking effect and what is still lacking,” the minister said. “I will implement today's lesson into shaping the country's visa policies in the second-half of this year so that key industries can receive the necessary volume of workers from overseas before it's too late.”

Shin Hyun-dae, CEO of Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries, said the ministry's recent adjustments in visa policies helped the shipbuilder secure enough laborers and thanked the minister.

The minister's visit to Yeongam on Monday, the first of his two-day trip to South Jeolla Province, came after the ministry announced on June 25 that it will ease requirements for E-7 visas that guarantee long-term employment and will also increase the quota for the work permits.

The move was the ministry's response to calls by local industries and local governments for the need to ease visa requirements for foreign technicians amid a deepening labor shortage.

Under the current rules, foreign employees who have worked legally in Korea for five years can apply for the E-7 visa. The ministry said this requirement will now be reduced to four years.