A bus driver drives a “maeul” bus in Seoul, in this undated file photo. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Nov. 18 (Korea Bizwire) — The Seoul city government said Monday it will push to hire foreigners as “maeul” bus drivers to cope with a chronic manpower shortage in the transportation sector.
Maeul buses, or village buses in English, operate on very short routes within local areas to connect residents to nearby major bus stops and subway stations. The bus industry has long called for the need to introduce foreign drivers due to a labor shortage.
Complying with the demand, the Seoul city government said it asked the Office for Government Policy Coordination (OPC) on Oct. 28 to expand the range of non-professional employment (E-9) visas to include the transportation industry. It also recommended that the work period for foreign drivers with the E-9 visa be extended from three years to five years.
The OPC has reportedly forwarded the policy recommendation to the Ministry of Employment and Labor for review.
“It is not easy to secure manpower for maeul bus drivers. The aging of maeul bus drivers is also a serious problem,” a city government official said. “If the labor ministry resolves the visa issue within this year, a pilot project is expected to be launched next year.”
The labor ministry said it will carefully review the visa issue in consideration of the qualifications, skills and nature of work required for the city bus transportation industry.
The E-9 visa is issued to non-professional foreign employees in manufacturing, agriculture, livestock and other industries.
Even now, it is possible for foreigners to work as bus drivers through the work and visit (H-2) visa or overseas Korean (F-4) visa. With the F-4 visa issued only for foreign nationals of Korean descent or marriage immigrants, however, the percentage of foreigners among Seoul’s maeul bus drivers is less than 2 percent.
(Yonhap)
