The Korea Federation of SMEs Seeks Exit Strategies from Japan's Cases on 'Responding to Population Decline'

Discussion Forum Held on the 13th
Proposing Measures Linking Immigration and ODA

The Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business (Kbiz) announced that it held a discussion forum titled “Responding to Population Decline: Korea-Japan Competition, Strategies for Securing Foreign Workers in SMEs: Japanese Cases and Implications” at the Kbiz Win-Win Room in Yeouido, Seoul.

This forum was organized to explore implications by comparing Japan’s case, which is regarded as competing with Korea in securing foreign workers amid the deepening labor shortage in SMEs due to the decline in the working-age population, and to seek future strategies for securing manpower in SMEs.

The first presenter, Dr. Oh Hak-su from the Japan Institute for Labour Policy and Training, stated, “Our country’s average annual wage per person is higher than Japan’s, and foreign workers are expected to earn even more. It is necessary to review the current Employment Permit System to see whether efforts are being made to develop the capabilities and improve the productivity of foreign workers commensurate with their wage levels.” He added, “Foreign workers are potential diplomats and require perspectives and efforts to elevate them into talents needed by our country.”

The second presenter, Dr. Cho Young-hee from the Migration Policy Institute, compared the foreign workforce policies of Korea and Japan and explained the problems and improvement directions of existing foreign workforce policies through cases. As a direction and strategy for securing foreign workers in SMEs, he also proposed linking immigration with Official Development Assistance (ODA). Dr. Cho said, “From the perspective of a nurturing immigration policy, policies should be designed considering the entire cycle of inflow, stay management, corporate utilization, social integration, and return/resettlement.”

The panel discussion, chaired by Professor Kim Seok-ho of Seoul National University, included panelists such as Lee Kyu-yong, Director of Employment Policy Research at the Korea Labor Institute; Professor Seol Dong-hoon of the Department of Sociology at Jeonbuk National University; Professor Kim Ok-nyeo of the Graduate School of Policy at Sookmyung Women’s University; and Lee Ki-jung, Head of the Foreign Workforce Support Office at Kbiz, who shared various opinions.

Lee Myung-ro, Head of the Manpower Policy Headquarters at Kbiz, emphasized, “Japan has recently been closely analyzing our systems such as the Employment Permit System to improve its foreign workforce system. We hope that this forum will serve as an opportunity to foster more active discussions on system improvements and the establishment of systems that can sufficiently supply the manpower needed by SMEs, which form the foundation of our industry, while enhancing the future value of these workers.”