The quota for non-professional foreign workers is set for around 191,000 next year. Shown are foreign workers harvesting cabbage at a farm in Goesan-gun County, Chungcheongbuk-do Province. (Goesan County Office)

By Margareth Theresia

The labor market next year will accept around 191,000 foreign workers designated non-professional.

The Office for Government Policy Coordination on Dec. 22 in a meeting of the Foreign Workforce Policy Committee chaired by Minister Yoon Chang-ryeol set a quota of 80,000 such laborers under the Employment Permit System (E-9 visa) and 109,000 seasonal workers (E-8). The figure is a ceiling on the inflow of foreign personnel to allow their flexible use in response to changing demand at industrial sites.

The 80,000 figure reflected industry-specific forecasts for labor supply and demand and the results of on-site demand surveys targeting relevant ministries and employers. The quotas were 50,000 workers in manufacturing, 10,000 in agriculture and livestock, 7,000 in fisheries, 2,000 in construction and 1,000 in the service sector.

Another 10,000 slots were set aside as flexible reserves to respond to demand fluctuations. A temporary quota for shipbuilding launched in 2023 and set to expire this year will be integrated into that of manufacturing from next year as previously implemented.

The number of seasonal workers will be expanded to ease chronic labor shortages caused by population decline and aging in rural communities. Based on a survey of local government demand, the quota was set at 109,000, 13,000 more than this year's.

The pilot program for foreign domestic helpers will not be upgraded to a full-scale program. Yet to ensure that such workers can continue working stably, institutional support will be applied like extending the employment period to that of E-9 holders.

margareth@korea.kr