20,000 Industrial Trainees to Visit Korea

As the government had decided to deport all illegal immigrants by March next year, serious manpower shortage is expected in the small- and medium-sized manufacturing companies. To solve the problem, the government decided to allow 20,000 out of 140,000 foreign industrial trainees it plans to admit to the nation to come to the nation starting from November, earlier than the original schedule.

The government decision came at a related committee meeting held on the 29th.

The government set quotas of 145,500 foreign trainees by industries. 130,000 will be allocated to the small- and medium-sized manufacturing sector, 7500 to construction, 5,000 to agriculture and stockbreeding, and 3,000 to fisheries.

The government also decided to select 10% of the trainees as exemplary trainees and extend the length of their stay in Korea up to 1 year.

A government official said, "The government will firmly respond to illegal behavior by foreign trainees, and inflict disadvantages on countries or institutions they belong."

Sang-Ho Yun ysh1005@donga.com