Migrant Workers Quota for 2011

It is decided that 48,000 foreign workers will be permitted

to get employed in Korea through the employment

permit system (EPS) in 2011 with the annual quota for

foreign workers increasing by 14,000 from last year.

The government convened the Foreign Workforce

Policy Committee (chaired by the Minister for Prime

Minister’s Office) and adopted the ‘2011 Foreign

Workforce Introduction Plan’.

According to the plan, 48,000 foreign workers will be

newly added to the labor market of Korea this year and

this is an increase by 14,000 from 34,000 in 2010. This

number reflects the substitute demand (48,000) derived

from the number of foreign workers whose sojourn period

end last year and that of the undocumented workers

leaving Korea after crackdowns, while taking into account

the economic prospects and domestic job situation,

etc. for this year. Being flexible on the number of foreign

workers to be introduced in 2011, the government will

monitor future supply and demand of workforce, flow of

undocumented workers, etc. to make an additional adjustment

for the annual quota.

The quota of 48,000 for this year is all

for general foreign workers holding an

E-9 visa and ethnic Koreans with foreign

nationalities having an H-2 visa, whose

total number is being controlled, will remain

at the level of 303,000 in total as

2010.

40,000-strong workers are allocated

for manufacturing, which is being followed

by agro-livestock industry and

fisheries industry.

In particular, construction-related


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