The government plans to offer various incentives to highly capable foreign individuals choosing to work in rural regions to resolve the issue of dwindling population in the countryside. (image: Korea Bizwire)
SEOUL, Sept. 19 (Korea Bizwire) — The government announced plans to welcome more foreign workers to address the dwindling working population in South Korea due to the low birthrate and aging society.
The Ministry of Economy and Finance announced on Wednesday that it will introduce a new visa for highly educated, high income-earning foreigners which will allow them to stay long term, bring family members, and get a job.
In the long term, the government plans to offer a variety of services tailored to the needs of hiring highly capable foreign individuals, including education for children and real-time consultation related to immigration, employment, and medical services.
The intent is to tackle the current situation in which most of the foreigners currently living and working in South Korea are non-professionals employed as laborers.
The government plans to offer various incentives to highly capable foreign individuals choosing to work in rural regions to resolve the issue of dwindling population in the countryside.
The government also plans to allow long-term stay to foreign students enrolled in vocational schools and technicians working at manufacturing facilities who choose to live in sparsely populated rural areas.
Long-term visas will be issued to foreigners who first came to South Korea with non-work, tourist visas who have worked in the country for more than five years and acquired Korean proficiency certificates and other licenses.
Foreigners who have worked in the country for a long time will be allowed re-entry in less than the current restriction of three months.
The government will also provide occupational training programs for foreigners, including pre-training for welders and other certified technicians, and offer incentives to those who have been acknowledged for their long-term service or other qualifications.
H. M. Kang (hmkang@koreabizwire.com)
