Migrant workers chant during the celebration of the International Migrants Day at the Gangbuk Labor Welfare Center in Seoul, Dec. 17. Yonhap

The year 2024 is expected to be the first year where the number of foreign workers in Korea surpasses 1 million.

Data released recently by Statistics Korea showed that the number of foreign workers here reached a record high of 923,000, so the government's plan to bring in an additional 165,000 workers from other countries in 2024, will further increase the nation's reliance on imported labor.

Korean companies claim that they have no choice but to rely on foreign workers for their survival, amid the nation's shrinking population and the avoidance of low-paying manual work by young jobseekers.

According to an annual survey of 500 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by the Korea Federation of SMEs, 50.8 percent of respondents picked the declining workforce as the most urgent matter for their long-term business plans. The proportion of respondents who gave the same answer was 45.6 percent a year earlier, indicating that the labor shortage has been worsening in various sectors including the manufacturing industry, the backbone of the Korean economy.

Factories and construction sites have struggled to secure enough foreign workers.

"Due to the labor shortage, we have hired many workers from Thailand for welding and painting jobs," said SK oceanplant Senior Managing Director Jeon Myung-woo. "We are looking for additional workers from Vietnam, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and China."

Korea Mechanical Construction Contractors Association Chairman Cho In-ho also urged the government to allow construction firms to use foreign workers at plant construction sites.

"In the midst of a sharp decrease in the working age population, growing demand for foreign workers is inevitable," Korea Enterprises Federation (KEF) Senior Specialist Kim Sun-ae said. "Korea now needs a comprehensive approach to its foreign labor policies."

The government vowed to continue its efforts to bring more foreign workers into the country by easing the visa regulations and supporting their stay in Korea.

"We plan to aggressively cope with the labor shortage in workplaces by frequently holding the meeting of the Foreign Workforce Policy Committee," a labor ministry official said.

Members of the Korean Plant Construction Workers' Union (KPCWU) hold a press conference in front of the Construction Association of Korea's headquarters in Seoul, Dec. 8, to protest an attempt to hire foreign workers at plant construction sites. Courtesy of KPCWU

Lingering conflicts

However, labor and employers are still poles apart over the hiring of foreign workers.

According to KEF's survey of 615 SMEs, the most pressing foreign workforce policy issue for the respondents was to find ways to strengthen sanctions on foreign laborers who "do not work hard enough."

Domestic companies have even called for a dual minimum wage system, claiming that foreign workers are less productive than their Korean counterparts, but cost more, considering the lodgings and meals provided to them.

In contrast, foreign workers have cried foul over various forms of discrimination leveled against them under the current system.

The Migrants' Trade Union (MTU) has continuously denounced the Employment Permit System as unjust and a violation of basic human rights. The union pointed out that the government is backpedaling in foreign workforce policies, with its plan to ban foreign workers from moving to other companies in different regions.

"Migrant workers are forced to endure low-paid, highly-intense and dangerous labor for long hours," the MTU said. "They are frequently exposed to offensive words and more vulnerable to industrial accidents."

In some industries, Korean workers are protesting against the employment of foreign workers.

"Construction firms' request for foreign workers at plant construction sites is a deceitful attempt to maximize their profits," Korean Plant Construction Workers' Union leader Lee Joo-an said.

Unionized workers in the tourism industry also criticized the government for its plan to allow hotels to hire foreign workers. They emphasized that efforts to improve working conditions should take priority over attempts to expand foreign hires.

Foreign workers read the "Guidebook for Foreigners about Korean Life Tips" published by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries in six different languages at the company's head office in Ulsan in this December 2023 file photo. Courtesy of HD Hyundai

Need for in-depth discussions

To minimize labor conflicts and attract foreign talent, Korea's major shipbuilders and construction firms have continuously made various efforts, such as Korean language education, various dietary options to satisfy religious needs and contributing to local communities.

Unlike those conglomerates, however, most SMEs here have depended entirely on the government and municipalities to secure foreign workers.

Experts advised that Korea should begin in-depth discussions on how to hire foreign workers and how to integrate them and their families into the country's education and social security systems.

"Korea still lacks a proper job market for the employment of foreigners," Migration Research & Training Centre principal associate researcher Choi Seo-ri said. "Although the government has introduced foreigners who can work in non-professional sectors, employers are still facing limited options."

The researcher also said that skilled foreign jobseekers holding E-7-4 visas and their employers are suffering difficulties in contacting each other due to the lack of information.

"Most foreign students in Korea have no choice but to find employers who seek foreigners, among the companies listed on recruitment websites for Korean nationals," she said.

Korea SMEs & Startups Institute's research fellow Noh Min-sun emphasized the necessity of allowing permanent residency to foreign nationals who have contributed to the Korean economy. Migrant workers have also continuously asked for the right to stay longer in Korea and live together with their families.

"For skilled foreign workers, the government should allow them to live in Korea with their families," Choi said.

The experts agreed with the government's skeptical stance on the dual minimum wage system that domestic companies are calling for, which could be regarded as a violation of the International Labour Organization convention.

"Discriminative treatment of foreigners will theoretically affect the wage of Korean nationals, as companies will be tempted to hire low-paid foreigners," Choi said. "A foreign worker whom I met invited his wife to Korea and the couple gave birth to their child here, but the worker was thinking of sending his wife and child back to his homeland, because his salary was too low to feed three family members in Korea."