Home > Business > Economy

Korea to reduce low-skilled foreign worker quota by 40 percent, scrap separate limit for shipbuilding

Published: 22 Dec. 2025, 21:13

Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon listens to foreign workers during a visit with Democratic Party Rep. An Ho-young, chair of the National Assembly’s Environment and Labor Committee, to a farm employing foreign laborers in Wanju County, North Jeolla, on Aug. 8. [MINISTRY OF EMPLOYMENT AND LABOR]

Korea will sharply reduce the number of low-skilled foreign workers it allows to enter next year, cutting the quota under a government-run hiring scheme by nearly 40 percent to 80,000, while scrapping a separate quota for the shipbuilding industry.

The move reflects easing post-pandemic demand for foreign labor from the market and a decline in job vacancies in manufacturing and construction, the Ministry of Employment and Labor said Monday.

The government approved the decision at a meeting of the Committee for Policy on Foreign Human Resources, the ministry said.

Under the Employment Permit System, which issues E-9 nonprofessional employment visas, small and midsize companies that fail to hire local workers can employ foreign labor after obtaining government approval. The 2026 quota for E-9 nonprofessional employment visas will stand at about 62 percent of this year’s level.

A Labor Ministry official said the decision reflected easing labor market pressures following the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Demand for foreign workers, which temporarily surged after the pandemic, has been largely met, while vacancies in manufacturing and construction have shown a clear downward trend,” the official said.

A foreign worker harvests dropwort at a field in Cheolma-myeon, Gijang County, Busan, on Dec. 15. [YONHAP]

The government had expanded the E-9 quota aggressively in recent years to address labor shortages across industrial sites. Annual inflows, typically ranging from 50,000 to 70,000 workers, rose to 120,000 in 2023 and 165,000 in 2024 before being reduced to 130,000 this year.

Despite the higher caps, actual visa issuances fell short of expectations in both 2024 and 2025, with the number of workers entering the country amounting to less than half the planned intake.

By sector, the government allocated 50,000 places to manufacturing and 10,000 to agriculture and livestock farming, setting aside the remaining 10,000 as a flexible reserve to respond to unexpected shifts in labor demand regardless of industry.

The quota serves as a ceiling rather than a fixed target, allowing authorities to adjust actual inflows based on labor market conditions.

A separate quota for the shipbuilding industry, introduced on a temporary basis in April 2023, will be scrapped at the end of this year and integrated into the manufacturing allocation.

The Labor Ministry said shipbuilders will still be able to hire foreign workers through the manufacturing allocation and does not expect disruptions to labor supply. Still, the government plans to form a joint task force involving the Labor Ministry, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources and the Office for Government Policy Coordination to monitor work force conditions at shipyards.

Ships are under construction at Hanwha Ocean's shipyard in Geoje, South Gyeongsang, on Oct. 30. [NEWS1]

“We do not expect difficulties in labor supply,” the ministry said, adding that the task force will track conditions closely and respond quickly if shortages emerge. Authorities will also explore ways to improve working conditions in shipbuilding to attract more local workers.

The government raised the additional hiring cap for manufacturing firms outside the greater Seoul area to 30 percent from 20 percent, in what it described as an effort to ease labor shortages in non-capital regions.

Manufacturing companies that reshored to non-capital regions of Korea will be allowed to hire foreign workers regardless of company size, and the existing cap of 50 additional foreign hires will be lifted.

The government will not seek to expand the number of foreign domestic workers but will apply the same employment-period extension rules used for E-9 workers to those already in the country.

“With foreign workers numbering around 1.1 million, we will further systematize labor supply planning so foreign workers are hired appropriately where they are needed,” said Kwon Chang-jun, vice minister of employment and labor.

“At the same time, we will pursue institutional improvements to enhance skills development and protect the rights of foreign workers.”

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KIM KYUNG-HEE [[email protected]]