Korean Job Discussion Forums

[semi-fly]

From koreatimes.co.kr

07-08-2008 18:11
Foreigners Can Work for Up to 5 Years
By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter

From July 28, foreign nationals will be able to work for up to five straight years without having to make the obligatory one-month sojourn outside Korea to extend their job contracts, the Ministry of Labor said Tuesday.

According to the revised Foreign Workers Employment Law, those currently allowed to work for up to three years will be able to extend their contracts for another two years. Currently, they have to leave the country for one month before renewal.

``Foreign workers complained over the cost involved in the one-month trip and management said their absence damaged business,'' Kim Yeon-shik, a ministry official, said.

Employment procedures will also change for management to hire more eligible persons. Under the current system, employers have to pick workers from those passing a Korean language test without screening their individual details.

But a new list will show each jobseeker's qualifications and career record. Employers will also be able to recruit directly via interviews overseas.

Workers will also get additional support. The government will provide job information to ethnic Korean Chinese people to help them settle in Korea more easily after signing work contracts.

In order to prevent workplace exploitation, conditions will be specified that allow workers to transfer to other companies. Workers can apply for transfers when wages are delayed and if their employer violates the Korean Labor Law.

``Under the new system, employers will be able to secure manpower from overseas and workers can easily adjust to Korean society,'' the official said.

The current employment permit system (EPS) allows a maximum three-year contract and renewal of up to two years, while the transfer of workplaces is limited to factory closures or worksite abuse.

In April, 377,032 foreigners were working under the EPS and 75.4 percent of them were working at companies with less than 30 on their payroll.

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Does anyone see this as a good thing or bad thing?

[Horangi Munshin]

If I'm reading it correctly it doesn't sound very good. How will the protections be enforced? Is the five year mark a cap so then a person who has worked here for five years can't anymore?

[BigBuds]

None of this applies to teachers of English in Korea. We're on a completely different visa.

[TheUrbanMyth]

[teachergirltoo]

I have several friends from the Philippines working in the factories here. This law is designed to make life easier for ones with those types of jobs.

[Horangi Munshin]

[bassexpander]

This means that a lot more filipinos and people from other countries will begin to settle here. Good for them, but I wonder if Korea will be prepared when faced with lots of foreign children wanting to integrate into the educational system, buy property, push for voting rights, etc..

Let me tell you, filipinos WILL push hard for this kind of thing.

It could become a huge mess if not handled properly. The very thing which kept this sort of integration from happening was the previous rule about workers being capped on the number of years they could work here.

Life is going to get really interesting in the next 10 years.

And if they think foreign workers protesting and unionizing is becoming an issue now -- they're in for one hell of a surprise!

[Fishead soup]

[Kiarell]

[bassexpander]

[Whistleblower]

Bassexpander made a very good point.