South Korea has decided to increase the number of visas it grants to skilled workers to more than 30,000 this year, up from just 2,000 last year. This decision aims to help companies that are struggling to find enough staff. The justice minister confirmed this on Wednesday.
A lot of young people in South Korea don’t want to do physical labor jobs, so it’s hard for the industrial and farming industries to find enough workers.
The Justice Minister, Han Dong-hoon, reassured at a government meeting that because they are increasing the number of visas by such a large amount, there won’t be a problem with not enough visas for foreign workers.
He compared the new quota to the one in 2020, which was only about 1,000. Initially, South Korea had planned to limit the E-7-4 visas (visas for skilled workers) to 5,000 this year. But in response to requests from the industry, the government is not only increasing the number of visas but also making it easier for companies to hire foreign workers.