South Korea will issue an additional 12,900 E-9 visas for unskilled foreign workers, the Ministry of Labour and Employment announced Monday, in the latest move to address a worsening labour shortage caused by the country’s demographic collapse.
The newly-issued visas will be distributed to sectors in need: 5,000 in manufacturing, 4,000 in agriculture and 2,500 in services, according to the announcement. Depending on industry demand, the ministry said it plans to add another 7,000 visas as needed.
The issuance comes on top of the regular quarterly application cycles, indicating a continued surge in demand across industries. More than 43,000 E-9 foreign workers have already entered Korea in the fourth quarter of 2023 alone, an increase of nearly 10,000 from the same period last year, according to a September government estimate.
Companies can apply for this expanded quota from November 20-30 either at regional employment centres or through the official Employment Permit System website at eps.go.kr, with results expected in December.
With the world’s lowest birth rate and a rapidly ageing population, South Korea has seen a sharp increase in the number of foreign workers entering the country in recent years. From January to July this year, some 63,000 foreigners entered South Korea on E-9 visas, well on track to surpass last year’s total of 88,012 and a significant increase from 51,365 in 2019.
Foreign workers have become an integral part of South Korea’s manufacturing and agricultural sectors, filling roles often shunned by the country’s rapidly shrinking domestic workforce. In response, the government has implemented policies to expand the foreign labour pool by increasing annual quotas and lifting hiring restrictions.
In early August, the labour ministry proposed plans to double the number of foreign workers allowed in a single workplace and expanded the range of industries eligible to hire foreign workers, adding logistics companies and airport subcontractors to the list.
