Minister OH Youngju of SMEs and Startups organized a consultative meeting with universities and companies on April 11, 2024, to discuss ways to connect SMEs with international students studying in Korea.

The meeting aimed to listen to the challenges faced by universities and SMEs in hiring international students and discuss policy directions to support this matter.

During the Korea Small Business Institute (KOSI) presentation, the participants reached a consensus on the importance of hiring international students and shared the current situation. They had a productive conversation on how to promote the employment of international students in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

HAN Chang-Yong, Director General of the Policy Analysis and Consulting Center at KOSI, stated, "Despite efforts by SMEs to recruit domestic workers, there is a worsening shortage of highly skilled labor, and there is an increasing demand for professionals in various fields." He added, "The number of international students who are studying in Korea is on the rise, and there is a growing demand for recruitment and employment opportunities between small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and international students. However, there are some challenges associated with employment due to differences in job-related information between employers and job seekers."

Minister OH Youngju stated, "At a time when domestic demand for foreign workers is increasing across all industries, attracting and hiring excellent international talent in domestic SMEs is an important task." She added, "Based on the valuable insights provided during this consultative meeting, we will soon discuss with relevant ministries and agencies to establish measures to facilitate the hiring of international students with domestic SMEs."

Global Media Relations: Rachel Minjo CHUN
+82-(0)44-204-7104 / rachelmchun@korea.kr