ID :
200657
Thu, 08/11/2011 - 12:36
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https://oananews.org//node/200657
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Number of foreign workers in S. Korea tops 700,000
SEOUL, Aug. 11 (Yonhap) -- The number of foreigners staying in South Korea for work topped the 700,000 mark, the labor ministry said Thursday, amid an ever-increasing foreigner population in the country.
Foreigners who entered and are currently living in the country for career reasons reached 716,000 as of the end of June, compared with the total 1,392,000 foreign nationals residing in the country, the Ministry of Employment and Labor said.
Of the combined workforce from abroad, 42,000 workers had professional skills while 491,000 were manual laborers, the ministry said. The tally also included 166,000 undocumented foreign laborers along with 15,000 workers staying here with a short-term work visas or for job training.
Among the non-professional workers were 190,000 foreign nationals, mostly from Southeast Asian nations, with no Korean ethnic background and 298,000 foreigners, mostly from China, of Korean ethnicity, according to the ministry.
They were largely employed by small-size manufacturers or service companies, the ministry added.
Currently, local employers unable to find domestic workers are allowed to hire foreign workers, usually for manual jobs, for up to 58 months under the country's Employment Permit System adopted in 2004.
"The government will improve living conditions for foreign workers here down the road," Lee Ki-kweon, the ministry's deputy minister, said, adding its initiatives will include boosting counseling services for workers from overseas.
Foreigners who entered and are currently living in the country for career reasons reached 716,000 as of the end of June, compared with the total 1,392,000 foreign nationals residing in the country, the Ministry of Employment and Labor said.
Of the combined workforce from abroad, 42,000 workers had professional skills while 491,000 were manual laborers, the ministry said. The tally also included 166,000 undocumented foreign laborers along with 15,000 workers staying here with a short-term work visas or for job training.
Among the non-professional workers were 190,000 foreign nationals, mostly from Southeast Asian nations, with no Korean ethnic background and 298,000 foreigners, mostly from China, of Korean ethnicity, according to the ministry.
They were largely employed by small-size manufacturers or service companies, the ministry added.
Currently, local employers unable to find domestic workers are allowed to hire foreign workers, usually for manual jobs, for up to 58 months under the country's Employment Permit System adopted in 2004.
"The government will improve living conditions for foreign workers here down the road," Lee Ki-kweon, the ministry's deputy minister, said, adding its initiatives will include boosting counseling services for workers from overseas.
