At 10:30 on Wednesday, August 31st, the government held the 34th Foreign Workforce Policy Committee,
presided over by Minister Bang, Moon-Kyu of the Office of Government Policy Coordination (OPC), to
increase the quota of foreign workforce for 2022.
In response to worsening labor shortages in the shipbuilding and manufacturing sectors, the quota of
migrant workers under non-professional employment visas (E-9) will be increased by 10,000 in total within
this year. Therefore, the total number will be raised from the current 59,000 to 69,000.
Since July this year, the government has streamlined the visa issuance procedure and increased the number
of flights to expedite the entry of migrant workers waiting to enter Korea.
Even though the number of foreign workers arriving in Korea is quickly increasing, it is still not easy to
recover to the pre-pandemic level. The government has therefore decided to expand the quota with a view
to promptly addressing labor shortages.
The number of additional quota was determined in consideration of the pre-COVID-19 level of migrant
workforce, the number of exceeded quota applications (9,216) in the first half, as well as industries’ needs
(11,790).
The government plans to allocate 90% of the quota expansion (10,000 workers) to manufacturing (75.4%),
agriculture/livestock (13.6%), fisheries (6.8%) and construction (4%) while the remainder (10%) will be sent
to industries with labor shortages to swiftly respond to changing demands during the year.
For press inquiry, please contact spokesperson for the foreign media Park, Jihye(parkjihye66@korea.kr/044-
202-7763)