[Exclusive] Foreign Employment Allowed for Lodging, Restaurants, and IT Developers

Additional Industries Allowed for Non-Professional Foreign Worker Employment Visa (E-9)
Accommodation and Food Services, Information and Communication, Transportation and Warehousing, etc.

Foreign workers will be able to work legally in service industries such as restaurants, cafes, convenience stores, and hotels. Employment visas will be issued for simple development personnel needed in the information technology (IT) sector, and foreign workers will also be allowed to work in the transportation and warehousing industry as well as the plant industry. The government has tentatively decided to significantly revise the employment quota for non-professional foreign workers' employment visas (E-9) and add these labor-short industries to the list of sectors permitted to employ foreign workers.

According to a comprehensive report by Asia Economy on the 11th, the government recently prepared a "Foreign Workforce Introduction System Reform Plan" containing these details. Related ministries including the Prime Minister's Office, Ministry of Economy and Finance, Ministry of Employment and Labor, Ministry of Justice, and Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy plan to include this content in the basic foreign policy plan to be announced in the second half of the year.

Currently, the industries allowed to employ workers under the E-9 visa are limited to manufacturing, construction, fisheries, agriculture and livestock products, and some service sectors (such as construction waste disposal, collection and sale of recycled materials, refrigerated and frozen warehouse operations, publishing, etc.). The E-9 visa is an employment visa issued to allow foreign workers to enter industries with severe domestic labor shortages and perform simple tasks. Since February, the government has additionally permitted E-9 foreign worker employment in loading and unloading jobs in some service industries with severe labor shortages, but this was evaluated as insufficient to resolve employment difficulties.

The government has decided to expand the permitted employment sectors to address blind spots in labor shortages. First, accommodation and food service industries will be added to the E-9 permitted employment sectors to respond to the job shortage issues in the service industry. Currently, only foreigners with the Overseas Korean (H-2) visa or part-time employment under 30 hours per week with a student (D-2) visa can be employed. A government official explained, "Except for these cases, most foreign workers are working illegally," and added, "We considered both the practical aspects of the service sector and the demands of the industry." This measure reflects the actual demand in hotels, restaurants, cafes, and convenience stores, allowing foreign workers from Southeast Asia and other regions holding E-9 visas to be employed.

The information and communication industry will also be added to the E-9 permitted employment sectors. Currently, foreigners with professional knowledge such as developers or designers must obtain an E-7 visa, which is issued to skilled and professional workers, to work in Korea. Unlike the E-9 visa, the E-7 visa generally requires a bachelor's degree or higher, certifications, and work experience, making its requirements stricter than those of the E-9. The IT and startup sectors have been struggling to hire development personnel needed for simple development tasks. An official stated, "Currently, engineers and developers from India mainly enter with E-7 visas, but the requirements are stringent," and added, "We believe that the labor issue should also be resolved with the E-9 visa, which has relatively lower requirements."

On the 11th, a notice regarding the employment of foreign workers was posted at the Western Branch of the Ministry of Employment and Labor in Mapo-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jo Yongjun

The transportation and warehousing industry, which is experiencing severe recruitment difficulties due to low preference among domestic job seekers, will also be added to the permitted sectors. Additionally, reflecting the construction industry's demands, the plant sector (industries that supply facilities or build factories capable of producing products such as petroleum and gas), where foreign employment (E-9) has not been allowed within construction, is highly likely to be added to the permitted sectors. Hyundai Engineering & Construction won a petrochemical plant project (worth approximately 6.5 trillion KRW) promoted by Saudi Arabia, and there were considerable demands from the construction industry to resolve labor shortages related to this. Currently, plant construction projects such as petrochemical facilities are excluded from foreign employment permits to prevent the leakage of national security technologies.

The Employment Permit System is a system that allows domestic companies to hire foreign workers with government approval when they are unable to secure domestic labor. The core of the system is that employers apply to the government for foreign workers, and the government selects foreigners and permits their entry into Korea. To protect domestic jobs, the government has operated the system with limited sectors and quotas.