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| South Korea will expand E-9 visa status for foreign workers involved in the country's manufacturing industry. (Source: Korea BizWire) |
The plan was confirmed by the Korean Foreign Labor Policy Committee on September 1, which will open up opportunities for logistics companies and airport subcontractors. The E-9 visa is a visa for unskilled workers working in Korea.
Speaking about the news, Bang Ki-sun, Minister of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, said the plan would help address the labor shortage across the industry and that the Seoul government should “maintain close monitoring of procedures” to ensure that the policy is implemented.
It usually takes months for the agency to confirm applications from companies looking to hire foreign workers and find suitable workers, an official at the Ministry of Employment and Labor said. Applications from logistics companies will begin next week, meaning the first eligible workers could start work as early as this year.
In addition, manufacturing companies outside Seoul with 300 or more employees can now hire E-9 visa workers. Previously, only companies with fewer than 300 employees and capital of 8 billion won ($6 million) were eligible.
In addition, the Korean government also approved a plan to increase the E-9 visa quota to 120,000 by the end of this year, more than double that of 2020 and 2021. At the same time, the maximum E-9 quota for each company will be doubled to 80. At the same time, the E-7-4 visa quota, which allows E-9 visa holders to choose their workplace more flexibly and stay in Korea indefinitely, will be increased sevenfold to 35,000.
Currently, Korean employers in the manufacturing, construction and agriculture sectors can recruit workers from 16 countries in Southeast Asia and Central Asia to work under E-9 visas.
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