This undated file photo provided by the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute shows researchers of the government-funded institute.
SEOUL, Dec. 30 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean government is pushing to introduce a new visa for foreign talent as well as to greatly ease visa requirements in the high-tech sector as part of efforts to address a labor shortage.
The Ministry of Justice announced that it will introduce a new E-7-S visa for those employed in high-tech industries and high-income earners.
The new visa will take effect from January.
The ministry also plans to expand the scope of visa issuances, excluding the areas of simple labor and general office jobs.
Thus far, visas for foreign professionals have been issued for only 93 job types. The government launched a drive to overhaul the visa system to better cope with newly-established industries and jobs.
However, to prevent the system from being abused for low-wage foreigners, the ministry increased the minimum wage requirements for issuance of the new high-tech visa to more than the per-capita gross national income (GNI) of the previous year.
In addition, the number of annual skilled worker visas (E-7-4) issued will also be greatly increased from 2,000 this year to 5,000 next year.
J. S. Shin (js_shin@koreabizwire.com)
