Foreign residents and students attend an open forum on deregulation regarding foreigners and international students at Seoul City Hall, Tuesday. Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government

The Seoul Metropolitan Government held a forum on Tuesday with around 20 foreign residents and international students to address the regulatory obstacles the city's foreign community faces.

By addressing key employment and daily life challenges, the city aims to boost its global competitiveness and position itself as an appealing destination for foreign workforce.

Participants raised concerns about the complexity of visa regulations and procedural hurdles, emphasizing the difficulties in navigating the process.

"Visa changes and administrative procedures are overly complicated, with lengthy processing times and excessive paperwork," a foreign professor said during a forum. "Many documents are only available in Korean, making it difficult for foreigners to complete necessary forms without assistance."

In response, the city government pledged to review the proposals and collaborate with the Ministry of Justice to explore potential improvements.

There are roughly 69,000 foreign students in Seoul, accounting for about 33 percent of the total international student population in the country. These students have voiced concerns over employment restrictions during their studies.

They noted that regulations on part-time jobs and internships hinder their ability to gain work experience, making career development challenging.

Recognizing the importance of job opportunities in attracting and retaining skilled foreign residents, the city government plans to ease these restrictions through a pilot project. The initiative aims to offer students more opportunities to explore career paths and gain professional experience before graduation.

Foreign jobseekers in Seoul face challenges due to visa restrictions and limitations on the industries they can work in. During the forum, they emphasized the need for job-matching services tailored to foreign residents.

In response, Seoul is collaborating with the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency to launch a job-matching service, connecting foreign students with small and medium-sized enterprises and startups.

The city also plans to introduce an employment consultation service to assist with job searches, visa changes and related employment issues.

Additionally, foreign residents in Seoul have raised concerns about daily challenges, particularly language barriers when opening bank accounts, getting a mobile phone plan and accessing health care.

"It's challenging to handle everyday tasks like opening a bank account, signing a mobile phone contract or visiting a hospital due to the lack of foreign language support," an international student who attended the forum said.

The city government, in light of these concerns, plans to expand multilingual support services and improve access to administrative information through the Seoul Global Center and other support facilities.

Students explore recruitment booths at Global Talent Fair held at COEX in southern Seoul, Aug. 27, 2024. Newsis

Discussions also focused on initiatives to help foreigners better adjust to living in Korea, including expanding country-specific community networks, increasing social programs with local residents and enhancing Korean language education support.

This year, the city has introduced and expanded various support programs through institutions such as the Seoul Global Center, foreign resident centers and other municipal offices. The city government said it will intensify promotional efforts to ensure that more foreign residents can benefit from these resources.

In addition, Seoul will launch a new program called 30 Days in Seoul this year to help international students immerse themselves in Korean culture and adjust more quickly to life in the city.

"Seoul is working to establish policies that support foreign residents and improve their living environment," said Lee Hae-sun, director-general of the Global City Policy Bureau at the city government, emphasizing the city's commitment to creating an inclusive multicultural society.

Lee emphasized the significance of the discussion, calling it "an important opportunity to address practical difficulties faced by foreign residents.”

Lee added, "Moving forward, we will continue to enhance Seoul's foreigner-friendly environment and actively eliminate unnecessary and unreasonable regulations to encourage talented international professionals to settle in the city."