A village bus with a sign calling for wage hikes for drivers rides along a street in Seoul in this April 20, 2023 photo. Korea's central government has concluded that it would not accept the Seoul City government's request to allow foreign nationals as village bus drivers in the capital, according to the labor ministry, Sunday. Newsis

Korea's central government concluded that it would not accept Seoul city officials' request to allow foreign nationals to drive "village buses" in the capital, the labor ministry said Sunday.

The ministry's spokesperson told The Korea Times that it concluded that hiring foreign drivers would be unfeasible under the current law as many issues regarding visa rules, license compatibility and Korean-language abilities are expected to arise.

The ministry plans to send its decision to the Office for Government Policy Coordination this week, the spokesperson said.

This comes after the city asked the central government to issue E-9 nonprofessional employment visas for non-Korean drivers so that they can work in the city as drivers for village buses, which run within or between neighborhoods in the city on short routes.

The city authorities said introducing such a policy would be essential to sustaining the industry, which has been hit hard by labor shortages in recent years.

"First and foremost, there is an issue over whether such foreign workers can fall in that visa category as nonprofessional workers," the ministry spokesperson said. "You need at least one year of experience of driving after earning a Class 1 heavy vehicle license to work as a village bus driver. Considering the conditions required, it may not be possible to permit them to apply for E-9 visas without changing the rules that disallow skilled people from getting that type of visa."

Moreover, there is a problem with license compatibility. E-9 visas are approved for foreign workers before they enter Korea. For them to work immediately, their bus licenses need to be recognized here, which could be challenging without revising relevant laws and rules in advance.

"Another issue is their language skills. Driving a bus requires a good ability to communicate with passengers in Korean as they might ask questions under hectic circumstances," the spokesperson said, adding that importing foreign drivers could only be considered a longer-term project for now.

Labor Minister Kim Moon-soo has also expressed such concerns. Speaking to reporters at an event on Nov. 22, he said bus drivers should be able to communicate with passengers fluently and that it would be difficult to categorize them as nonprofessional workers.

Also known as "maeul buses," village buses operate on short routes, connecting passengers to major bus stops and subway stations. But for many drivers, working at a maeul bus firm is deemed as a stepping stone to employment at larger, better-paying bus companies, which contributes to the particularly acute driver shortage faced by village bus operators.

Amid reports about the city government's plan, major labor groups have shown mixed reactions.

The Korea Automobile and Transport Workers' Federation, a group under the Federation of Korean Trade Unions, one of the country's two largest umbrella unions, expressed its strong objection. But the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, the other major umbrella union, told The Korea Times that it "was not opposed" to the proposal as long as the government treats them equally to Korean workers.

The bus driver proposal follows the city government program of hiring 100 Filipino workers as caregivers. The central and local governments plan to expand that program as a national project next year, aiming to expand the number to 1,200 in collaboration with more partner countries.