Foreign migrant workers wearing Vietnam’s traditional conical hats, or non la, harvest potatoes in a rural village in Gangneung, Gangwon Province. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Sept. 17 (Korea Bizwire) — More than nine in 10 South Korean small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) employing foreign workers say they do so because it is nearly impossible to hire locals, according to a survey released Tuesday.
The Korea Federation of SMEs said it polled 503 firms with more than 50 employees in July as part of its 2025 survey on foreign labor. A striking 93.8 percent of respondents cited the difficulty of recruiting domestic workers as the main reason for hiring foreigners. Cost savings (2.6 percent), productivity gains (1.2 percent), and access to skilled labor (0.2 percent) trailed far behind.
The survey also found that reliance on foreign labor is not easing. Some 98.2 percent of businesses plan to maintain or expand their foreign workforce, while only 1.8 percent intend to scale back. Companies planning to expand said they expect to hire an average of 6.5 additional workers.
VR-Based Safety Training Center Opens for Foreign Laborers in Gimhae (Image supported by ChatGPT)
When asked about hiring preferences, 60.8 percent of employers said they favored workers from the same countries as their existing foreign staff, underscoring the importance of familiarity and continuity.
The survey also shed light on concerns about broader labor policy changes. If a four-and-a-half-day workweek were implemented, 42.1 percent of firms said they expected to struggle with delivery schedules, while 24.1 percent anticipated higher labor costs.
Industry officials stressed that foreign worker permit programs must remain stable to ensure timely labor supply. They also called for government deliberations on shorter workweeks to reflect differences across sectors and company sizes.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
