Workers are seen at the construction site of apartment buildings in southern Seoul on July 28, 2021. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, June 7 (Korea Bizwire) — With the labor shortage on construction sites becoming more severe, South Korea’s construction sector is calling on the government to lift restrictions on the hiring of foreign workers as well as to issue pardons to the companies that were imposed restrictions on hiring.
During the period from late last year to recent days, the Korea Specialty Construction Association submitted recommendations several times to the Office for Government Policy Coordination.
The association also proposed such recommendations to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Environment and Labor Committee of the National Assembly.
According to data published at the end of last year by the Construction Workers Mutual Aid Association, the construction industry’s total labor demand is estimated at 1.75 million workers this year.
The availability of domestic labor supply for this industry, however, is limited to 1.54 million due to rapid population aging and the tendency for young workers to avoid high-intensity and high-risk jobs.
Nonetheless, the number of legitimate foreign workers working at construction sites with visas granted under the employment approval system remains low at about 65,000.
As of April, the number of foreigners staying in South Korea stood at 1.99 million, down 18 percent from April 2019, before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The number of foreigners on H-2 work and visit visa and E-9 non-professional employment visa fell by 136,071 (54 percent) and 55,477 (20 percent), respectively, during the same period.
In addition, the foreign labor approval system for construction sites applies stringent standards, causing more difficulty for the construction industry.
J. S. Shin (js_shin@koreabizwire.com)
