[Foreign Worker Cliff] Immigration Policy Drifting Without a Control Tower for 20 Years

②Renewed Debate on Establishing the Immigration Cheong
Local Governments Compete Actively to Host Immigration Cheong
"Coordination Impossible at Ministry of Justice Sub-Agency Level"

Editor's NoteIt has been 20 years since the Employment Permit System for Foreign Workers (hereinafter referred to as foreign workers) began with the entry of 92 Filipino workers in August 2004. As of the end of last year, the number of foreign workers reached 920,000, increasing ten thousandfold over the past two decades. Considering the need to fill labor shortages in 3D industries that domestic workers avoid and the accelerating trend of low birthrates and aging population, many more foreign workers will be needed in the future. However, foreign workers face visa barriers that lead to a vicious cycle of deportation before becoming skilled workers or remaining as undocumented immigrants. This contrasts sharply with neighboring countries like Japan, where population decline due to low birthrates has begun, actively lowering immigration barriers to encourage foreign workers to settle. Although a competition among countries for foreign workers is expected, South Korea has yet to establish even a control tower to oversee immigration policies, resulting in a rapid increase in undocumented immigrants. This article examines the current status of foreign workers and immigration policies in Korea, along with desirable policy directions for sustainable growth and securing a working-age population.

With the end of the 21st National Assembly session, discussions on establishing an Immigration Office, which had been automatically discarded, have reignited. Local governments have jumped into the competition to attract the Immigration Office, aiming for economic benefits. However, concrete discussions at the central government level on how to assign the Immigration Office the role of a control tower for foreign workers and overall immigration policies have not progressed rapidly. Experts warn that if the Immigration Office is established as an external agency under the Ministry of Justice as currently planned, it will be difficult to resolve policy confusion caused by the complex involvement of multiple ministries.

Immigration Office Establishment Debate Rekindled... Stuck for 20 Years

The bill to establish the 'Immigration and Immigration Management Agency,' which was submitted to the National Assembly in February but discarded with the end of the 21st National Assembly session in May, has resurfaced with the opening of the 22nd National Assembly. Local governments nationwide have been competing to attract the Immigration Office even before the bill's passage. In addition to cities and counties in Gyeonggi Province that expressed interest after the bill's proposal, local governments in Chungcheongnam-do, Chungcheongbuk-do, Gyeongsangbuk-do, and Jeollanam-do have also declared their intention to host the agency. They believe that the Immigration Office's establishment will benefit the regional economy by generating employment.

However, concrete discussions at the central government level on which ministry should oversee the Immigration Office to avoid policy confusion and how to organize detailed operational plans are hard to find. Politicians seem focused on passing the Immigration and Immigration Management Agency establishment bill, which was discarded in the previous National Assembly, as is, prioritizing the establishment of the Immigration Office itself.

The main point of the Immigration and Immigration Management Agency establishment bill is to create the Immigration Office as an external agency under the Ministry of Justice and then transfer the Ministry of Justice's immigration duties to the Immigration Office to form a control tower. The goal is to integrate the management of foreign workers, currently scattered across various ministries depending on visa types, into the Immigration Office.

Currently, four departments manage foreign workers: the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Employment and Labor, Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, and Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. According to the National Assembly Budget Office, the Ministry of Justice manages foreign workers entering with professional visas E1 to E7, while the Ministry of Employment and Labor manages non-professional foreign workers with E-9 visas and special employment permit H-2 visas. Seasonal workers mainly deployed in agriculture with C-4 and E-8 visas are managed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, and seafarers employed on distant-water fishing vessels with E-10 visas are managed by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.

"Creating an Organization Under the Ministry of Justice Won't Solve the Problem... Coordination Power Needed"

This proposal had been discussed for 20 years since the Ministry of Justice first attempted it in 2004 but failed. It gained momentum when Han Dong-hoon, leader of the People Power Party and former Minister of Justice, announced in 2022 that establishing the Immigration Office would be a key agenda. If the bill, which was automatically discarded in February, is resubmitted as is, the Immigration Office is likely to be established as an external agency under the Ministry of Justice according to the original draft.

However, if the Immigration Office starts as an external agency under the Ministry of Justice, it is uncertain whether it can efficiently manage and resolve foreign worker issues involving multiple ministries. Since various ministries individually manage their respective foreign worker groups, duplication of projects and blind spots are likely, and coordinated projects become even more difficult.

Academics also express concern that if the Immigration Office is organized according to the current bill, even grasping the actual status of foreign worker management will be difficult. To unify the currently fragmented policies and reduce duplication and blind spots, an organization capable of comprehensively leading policy is necessary.

Jung Ki-seon, a researcher at the Seoul National University Institute for Social Development and an immigration policy expert, said in a phone interview with this publication, "The Ministry of Justice is originally a regulatory agency managing visas, but immigration policy is not just about visa management." He added, "The Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, and Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism are all related ministries. With such completely different ministries implementing policies separately, coordination is impossible with just an external agency under the Ministry of Justice." He advised, "To unify policies when even the assessment of foreign worker labor demand is fragmented, the agency should be established under the direct control of the President or Prime Minister." Otherwise, he pointed out, the Immigration Office will struggle to become a control tower.

Seok Won-jeong, head of the Association for the Rights of Foreign Migrant Workers, also said, "The issue of establishing the Immigration Office is not simply about immigration but a crucial long-term matter to accept foreign workers as part of Korea and lead it as one of the solutions to population issues." Seok advised, "Immigration policy should comprehensively manage not only labor supply and demand in various industries but also social integration and welfare. In that regard, a role closer to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety is needed beyond the Ministry of Justice's immigration management."

Previous article: [Foreign Worker Cliff] A Country Where Skilled Workers Become Undocumented Immigrants