Aiming to Ease Labor Shortages
for Small Business Owners and the Service Sector
The government has decided to expand the scope of foreign workers, previously limited to kitchen assistants in restaurants, to include hall serving staff as well. In addition, foreign workers will now be allowed to perform sorting tasks in the parcel delivery industry. For partner companies that have cleaning service contracts with accommodations such as hotels, the system will be improved to allow the introduction of foreign workers on a pilot basis.
On May 15, the government held a Foreign Workforce Policy Committee meeting at the Government Complex Seoul, presided over by Bang Ki-sun, Minister for Government Policy Coordination, and finalized the "Plan for Improving the Employment Permit System and Support Measures for the Service Sector," which includes these measures.
The government introduced these improvements to address on-site challenges that have arisen since the introduction of foreign workers (E-9) under the Employment Permit System in the parcel delivery, restaurant, and hotel/condominium sectors. The new measures are designed to minimize the impact on domestic jobs while ensuring that foreign workers provide tangible help in alleviating labor shortages in the service industry.
Taking into account the characteristics of small restaurants, where kitchen assistance and hall serving are often performed interchangeably without clear distinction, the government will expand the permitted job categories from kitchen assistance to include hall serving. In the parcel delivery industry, sorting tasks will be added to the scope of employment permits, allowing foreign workers to flexibly perform both loading/unloading and sorting duties.
For the hotel and condominium sector, in the interest of regional equity, the government will gradually expand the policy beyond the four regions of Seoul, Gangwon, Jeju, and Busan, if requested by local governments. The requirement that foreign workers employed by partner companies must be exclusively assigned to a single hotel or condominium will also be improved. Partner companies that have signed stable, long-term service contracts with hotels will now be eligible to introduce foreign workers.
This change reflects the industry's characteristics, where cleaning services are frequently outsourced and a single partner company often holds contracts with multiple hotels. However, the introduction of foreign workers in the restaurant, hotel/condominium, and cleaning partner sectors will remain in a pilot phase for the time being. The government will inspect and monitor participating workplaces and review the appropriateness of the requirements and the possibility of further expansion in the future.
The government will also strengthen support to alleviate mismatches in foreign workforce supply and provide customized personnel to meet on-site needs. When introducing foreign workers, job seekers will be selected based on employers' preferred countries, desired industries, and work experience for each specific sector, in order to facilitate field-customized job matching. The government also plans to continue expanding opportunities for industry-specific Korean language and basic skills training, in cooperation with relevant associations before and after workers enter the country.
Bang Ki-sun, Chair of the Foreign Workforce Policy Committee, said, "We will monitor the effects of these improved requirements and support measures, listen to feedback from stakeholders on the ground, and contribute to easing the urgent labor shortages faced by small business owners and the service sector. We will also ensure that the introduction of foreign workers is balanced with the impact on domestic employment."
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