Korea sees 21% drop in foreign workers

"The number of foreign workers entering South Korea under the Employment Permit System (E-9 visa) has dropped more than 20 percent from a year earlier, amid a prolonged economic slump and a manufacturing downturn fueled by ultra-cheap Chinese exports."

As of June 10, 28,520 foreign workers entered South Korea under the system this year, down 20.9 percent from 36,048 last year, according to the Ministry of Employment and Labor on Sunday. Launched in 2004, the system allows small and medium-sized enterprises unable to hire domestic workers to employ unskilled foreign laborers on government-issued visas.

So far this year, foreign workers admitted under the E-9 visa account for only 21.9 percent of the total quota of 130,000.

The manufacturing sector saw the steepest decline, with entries falling 25.8 percent from 28,887 to 21,443. Analysts point to reduced demand from struggling SMEs, exacerbated by both internal and external factors, including political instability such as the martial law declared on Dec. 3 and an influx of dumping exports from China. The fisheries sector also saw a 21.7 percent decline, with entries falling from 2,808 to 2,198, while the construction sector dropped 33.1 percent, from 767 to 513.

In contrast, agriculture, livestock, and services recorded gains. The number of foreign workers in agriculture and livestock rose 19.3 percent, from 3,379 to 4,031, while entries in the service sector increased 27.5 percent, from 207 to 264.

The number of foreign workers entering Korea through the program plunged during the COVID-19 pandemic but rebounded to 88,012 in 2022 and 100,148 in 2023. Last year, however, the figure declined again to 78,025.

The ministry also announced it will accept new applications to hire foreign workers under the permit system from July 7 to 18 at employment and labor offices nationwide. The third round of permits for this year will total 18,054, including 13,062 for manufacturing, 500 for shipbuilding, 1,878 for agriculture and livestock, 1,662 for fisheries, 356 for construction, and 596 for services.

North Gyeongsang Province will be newly designated as an approved area for hotel and resort employment starting with this round. In addition, foreign workers will now be permitted to work in restaurant halls, as servers, and in parcel sorting jobs


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