Gov't opens path for those with D-10 job seeker visas to work part-time in manufacturing
Published: 13 Mar. 2026, 12:29
Updated: 16 Mar. 2026, 14:15
![Foreign students seeking jobs crowd the venue during an employment fair for international students at Exhibition Hall 2 of Bexco in Haeundae District, Busan, on Aug. 19, 2025. [JOONGANG ILBO]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2026/03/16/54d0c531-3ab8-4641-a7c5-b40cb1289d70.jpg)
Foreign students seeking jobs crowd the venue during an employment fair for international students at Exhibition Hall 2 of Bexco in Haeundae District, Busan, on Aug. 19, 2025. [JOONGANG ILBO]
The Korean government has opened a new path that will allow foreign nationals who studied at Korean universities, graduated and received D-10 job seeker visas to take part-time jobs in manufacturing.
The change came after the death of a 25-year-old former international student from Vietnam named Tuan, who died during a government crackdown on undocumented foreign nationals ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang, in October 2025.
According to the Ministry of Justice’s Korea Immigration Service on Thursday, foreign nationals staying in the country on D-10 visas have been allowed to take part-time manufacturing jobs since Monday.
Under the previous policy, international students who had graduated and remained in the country on D-10 visas could only take part-time work through professional internships or in service jobs such as restaurant work.
The government cracked down on undocumented foreign nationals on Sept. 29, 2025, one month before the Gyeongju APEC summit. Tuan died while trying to evade the crackdown. He graduated from Keimyung University in Daegu in February 2025 and got a job at an auto parts maker in the Seongseo industrial complex while preparing to enter graduate school.
He looked for an internship related to his major, but because finding work was not easy, he is said to have taken the manufacturing job even though he knew it was illegal.
On Oct. 28, 2025, just two weeks after starting work, Tuan hid in a third-floor room housing air-conditioning units to avoid inspectors and died there. After the accident, the Justice Ministry said it prayed for the repose of the deceased and would review improvements to the visa system.
![International students attend the Job Fair for International Students in Busan on Aug. 19, 2025, at Busan's Bexco convention center. [YONHAP]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2026/03/16/aca7cd8e-8492-4cb7-88ef-d19f0ed716e4.jpg)
International students attend the Job Fair for International Students in Busan on Aug. 19, 2025, at Busan's Bexco convention center. [YONHAP]
The number of cases in which former international students staying on D-10 visas were caught working illegally has increased over the past three years. There were 224 such cases in 2023, 297 in 2024 and 367 in 2025, according to statistics provided by the Ministry of Justice.
Migrant support groups explained that the easing of permitted employment categories reflects reality. They added, however, that because manufacturing workers are more likely to be exposed to risks such as industrial accidents than those in ordinary service jobs, preventive measures are needed.
“Because wages are higher in manufacturing than in other part-time jobs, more foreign workers who are seeking jobs after studying in Korea are likely to enter the sector,” said attorney Cho Young-kwan, vice director of the Migrants Center Friend. “Because they are also highly likely to be assigned dangerous duties as short-term day laborers at workplaces, preventive measures to prevent accidents must be prepared in parallel.”
The move was meant to address criticism that Korea has failed to make proper use of talented human resources educated in the country, according to the Korea Immigration Service.
“The scope of permitted part-time employment for former international students was so narrow that some unintentionally chose illegal work or gave up looking for jobs because of financial burdens and returned home,” said a Justice Ministry official. “We expanded the categories of permitted employment so students can ease the financial difficulties they face during their job search period and build practical career experience.”
![Various job seekers look around the Job Fair for International Students in Busan held in Haeundae District, Busan, on Aug. 19, 2025. [SONG BONG-KEUN]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2026/03/16/4caa3f12-6f79-4b91-8ed5-4591315b44f9.jpg)
Various job seekers look around the Job Fair for International Students in Busan held in Haeundae District, Busan, on Aug. 19, 2025. [SONG BONG-KEUN]
Separately, the Justice Ministry is conducting a pilot project that exempts holders of D-2 degree program visas and D-4 general training visas from submitting financial proof documents.
Foreign students in degree programs must currently prove they have bank balances of at least 20 million won ($13,400) in the capital area and 16 million won outside the capital area. Language trainees must show 10 million won in the capital area and 8 million won outside it.
Under the pilot project, the government decided to exempt some international students from the current financial proof system. International students studying in specialized technical departments at 16 junior colleges will be exempt from financial proof requirements.
The benefit follows the creation of a new visa qualification for specialized technical workers, aimed at systematically fostering international students with at least intermediate technical skills. Foreign students entering care worker programs at 24 designated universities will also be subject to only 50 percent of the standard bank balance requirement.
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 SON SUNG-BAE [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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