I. Introduction
There are two main types of foreign workers being brought into Korea. The first type is foreign migrant workers (E-9 visa) under the Employment Permit System (EPS) for such industries as manufacturing, construction, farming, and fishing (“3D”, or “dirty, dangerous, difficult” industries), and the other is foreign professional employees (E1~E7 visas) with specialized knowledge, such as college professors, experts in a specific field, researchers, and English teachers. These foreigners not only supplement our insufficient work force, but also provide professional knowledge and technology necessary to our industries.
Korea had been bringing foreign workers in under the Industrial Trainee System since 1993 to deal with the labor shortage in small and medium sized companies, but since August 2004, this System has been replaced with the Employment Permit System of the “Act on Foreign Worker Employment, etc.” (Foreign Workers Act). The Employment Permit System consists of the non-professional employment visa (E-9) for foreign workers engaged in simple skilled jobs and the visiting employment visa (H-2) for overseas Koreans. The Employment Permit System was introduced to provide workforce stability in industries suffering from severe labor shortages while protecting the Korean labor market. The following explains the process of hiring foreign workers, application of labor law, and items requiring attention under the Foreign Workers Act.

II. Employment through the Employment Permit System
1. Industries permitted to hire foreign workers and related quotas
(1) Manufacturing: Small and medium-sized manufacturing companies ordinarily hiring fewer than 300 workers or with a market capital of ₩8 billion are allowed to hire foreign workers. Provided that, if a manufacturing company surpasses the aforementioned conditions, it can still hire foreign workers if it receives a “Certificate of Small & Medium Enterprise Confirmation” from the regional Small & Medium Enterprise Administration. The quota of foreign workers depends on the size of the company, but is 10 to 20% of the domestic workforce.
(2) Construction: Most construction companies can use the Employment Permit System. Construction companies are allowed to hire up to 5 workers if the company’s average annual gross is less than ₩1.5 billion, with an additional 0.4 foreign workers allowed for every ₩100 million in gross exceeding the ₩1.5 billion.
(3) Services: Service companies can use overseas Korean job-seekers (H-2 visa) visiting through the Special Employment Permit System. Service companies with 5 workers or fewer can hire up to 2 overseas Korean workers even if there are no other Koreans working for the company, while service companies with 6 or more workers can hire the number of overseas Koreans equivalent to 30 to 40% of the domestic workforce.
(4) Agriculture, livestock and fishing: Agriculture and livestock companies with 10 workers or fewer can hire up to 5 foreign workers even if this means that there are no Korean workers in the company. Larger companies can have up to approximately 20% of their workforce as foreign workers. For the fishing industry, fishing boats of 20 tons or less and aquaculture do not fall under the Seamen’s Law. They can use foreign workers, and non-Korean workers can make up 40% of the personnel onboard each boat.
2. Employment Methods through the Employment Permit System
(1) General Employment Permit System
1) Issuance of a letter of employment permission: Employers intending to hire foreign workers shall first apply to the Employment Security Center (ESC) for recruitment of Korean nationals. The ESC will issue a document confirming a workforce shortage for employers unable to find enough Korean workers despite their hiring efforts (the recruiting period must be at least 3-7 days). The employer shall choose the workers he/she needs from a list of foreign workers that the ESC recommends (which will be three times larger than the number needed). Once the employer has done so, the ESC will issue employment permits for those foreign workers. Before issuing these permits, the ESC shall confirm that the following qualifications exist: the company applying to recruit foreign workers fits the eligibility criteria; the employer had tried to hire Korean workers; there shall be no employment adjustment within two months, and there should not be any delay in payment of wages for 5 months.
2) Signing an employment contract: The employer will sign the standard employment contract provided by the Ministry of Employment & Labor with the chosen foreign workers. The contract will specify working conditions such as wages, working hours, holidays, work places, and working period etc. The effective date of the employment contract is when the foreign worker enters Korea. Therefore, the employment relationship begins with this date of arrival to Korea, and shall be the date used to calculate severance pay, etc.
3) Essential duties to be handled: The employer must register the foreign workers at the Immigration Office and apply for work visas. That is, the employer will receive certificates of alien registration regarding the E-9 visas and have the foreign employees enter Korea. Foreign workers shall receive pre-employment training at a designated training institute within 15 days of their arrival into Korea. During this training period, the training institute will have them receive a medical checkup against epidemic diseases defined under law. Employers and foreign workers shall have the essential insurances. The employer shall provide a departure guarantee insurance to secure severance pay and guarantee insurance to prevent delayed payment of wages, while the foreign workers shall ensure they have personal injury insurance and sufficient funds for return airfare.
(2) Employment Permit System for Overseas Koreans
1) Introduction: Special Employment for Overseas Koreans is a system where employers can hire overseas Koreans already in Korea, for the construction, service, manufacturing, and other industries. Those who have a visiting employment visa (H-2) shall attend the employment training designated and get a job after registration with the Employment Security Center.
2) Applicable overseas workers: ① Overseas Koreans with relatives in Korea: Overseas Koreans aged 25 years or older who have resided in China or one of the former Soviet republics, those who have received an invitation from a family member registered in the family registration or his/her descendants, or from a blood relative (third cousin or closer) or a relative through marriage (first cousin or closer) as a registered Korean resident. ② Overseas Koreans with no relatives in Korea: such persons shall be selected through a Korean language test, random selection, etc.
3) Issuance of visiting employment visa (H-2) and entry to Korea: Overseas Koreans with relatives in Korea may enter Korea with an H-2 visa issued by a Korean embassy in a foreign country, while Overseas Koreans without relatives in Korea may enter with a visa issued after passing a Korean language test or through random selection.
4) Employment training, physical check-up, application for employment: Persons entering Korea for the purpose of visiting employment shall take employment training (20 hours or more) for domestic activities at an employment training institute (the Korea HRD Service), have a check-up to confirm his/her physical eligibility, and apply for employment during the training period.
5) Issuance of a certificate for special employment: Similar to the procedures under the Employment Permit System, the employer shall make an effort to hire K