15,000 more foreign workers are coming to Korea.
The Ministry of Employment and Labor announced that from April 20 to May 6 you can apply for the 2nd round of 2026 foreign worker (E‑9) permits at any local office. The total quota is 15,774: 11,275 for manufacturing, 2,382 for agri‑livestock, 1,485 for fisheries, 492 for construction and 140 for services. If a sector needs more, up to 10,000 extra spots can be flex‑assigned.
From the 2nd round they give extra points to workplaces that join the foreign worker specialized training and to those that run the foreign worker safety leader program. If a company wants to hire foreign workers, after trying to hire locals for 7 days they can apply for an employment permit through the local labor office or the Work24 website (www.work24.go.kr). The results will be announced on May 21.
If you only read the article, it sounds like Korea is taking in 1ten thousand5천774명 more foreign workers all at once. But in reality, the government is not opening the door to just any company. It assigns workers only to the industries and workplaces that need them through the Non-professional Worker Employment Permit System (EPS) route.
The core of this system is simple. Korean employers can’t just hire abroad if they can’t find a worker; they have to try to hire locals first. Only when they still can’t find anyone can they get government permission to use foreign workers. So this announcement is more a sign that the government will fill gaps in the Korean labor market in a managed way, not just expand immigration.
Especially, it's not a coincidence that manufacturing had the most people, 1만1천275명, in this 2nd round. This number shows which part of the Korean economy can't find workers and why E‑9 workers fill that spot.
This announcement isn’t just about more foreigners, it’s about a permit‑based allocation.
The main questions are two: why a permit is needed, and why it’s often given to manufacturing.
Why Korean companies can’t hire foreign workers right away
For an employer, E-9 hiring takes much longer than regular hiring. It means the government checks the conditions in the middle.
Step 1: First, they need to try hiring people inside Korea
The employer can't just hire overseas right away. First they need to try hiring locals, and only if they still can't fill the spots can they move to the next step.
Step 2: Apply for a work permit
I apply for a work permit at the local labor office. They check things like the industry, workplace size, and if there's a labor shortage.
Step 3: When the permit is issued, we sign a work contract.
If the government allows hiring, then you can sign a contract with foreign workers. The order matters.
Step 4: Get the E-9 visa and then enter the country.
After the work contract, you get the E-9 non‑professional work visa and enter the country. It’s not a free‑choice visa; it only allows certain jobs.
Step 5: After job training, you get placed at the workplace.
You don’t start work right after arriving. After training and paperwork, you’re placed at a workplace. It’s a safety step to cut illegal hiring and broker involvement.
What's the difference between regular hiring and the E-9 work permit?
| Comparison item | regular hiring | E-9 employment permit |
|---|---|---|
| Hiring start | If a company needs it, they can post a job ad right away. | First, you need to try hiring locals to start. |
| government intervention level | relatively few | Gov't heavily involved in permits, visas, and deployment |
| Allowed business | Generally broad | Manufacturing, farming, fishing, construction, etc. are the main sectors with labor shortages. |
| Purpose of the system | Hiring talent | Solving small business staffing shortage + protecting local jobs + preventing illegal hiring |
| Stay management | General employment management focus | Manage visa and work eligibility together |
E-9 workers who are already a big part of Korea's industry
By the end of Dec 2025, there were 282,839 regular foreign workers (E-9), and 226,619 of them were in manufacturing. That’s about 80%, so E-9 is already the core workforce supporting manufacturing.
Why does the quarter focus on manufacturing? The Korean job map has the answer.
Manufacturing's big share isn’t just because there are many factories. In Korea, manufacturing still employs a lot of people, especially in regional industrial parks and small factories. But these jobs are often far from what young people want.
The government calls manufacturing an "empty job sector" for a reason. It means there are job ads but no one takes the positions. This problem is especially bad in local small‑medium manufacturing production jobs, not in big‑company R&D.
Service jobs have many types, so even with a labor shortage they need strong customer service and language skills. Farming and fishing depend on season and location, and construction needs safety and process control. That's why policymakers find manufacturing the easiest area to set quotas for.
Manufacturing has many jobs, many small firms, and keeps lacking domestic workers, so it gets the biggest quota.
Just looking at the 2024 2nd round assignments, manufacturing dominates.
Looking at just the 2024 second round allocation shown in the research, you can see manufacturing gets a much bigger share than other sectors.
Why manufacturing is so big becomes clearer when you look at each sector
| industry | Labor demand features | Reasons or limits for a big policy allocation |
|---|---|---|
| manufacturing | Demand is always high and the production line keeps running. | Lots of sites and many unfilled spots mean we can assign the biggest amount. |
| service industry | Lots of different businesses and a lot of customer service | Because of language and task diversity, broad batch assignment is relatively hard |
| construction | On-site demand and safety management are important | There's demand, but stricter control due to process and safety rules |
| Farming & livestock, fishing | It's very seasonal and local | It's needed a lot, but timing and region vary, so separate management is needed. |