Nine out of ten foreign students enrolled in domestic universities wish to find employment in South Korea.
On the 26th, according to the results of the 'Career Opinion Survey for Foreign Students Graduating' conducted by the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises on 805 foreign students enrolled in domestic universities, 86.5% of the students responded that they hope to find employment in South Korea after graduation.
In particular, 90.8% of foreign students in specialized associate degree programs showed a strong desire to find employment.
By region, non-capital areas (87.2%) showed a greater intent to find employment in South Korea than the capital area (85.3%).
The reasons for wanting to find employment in South Korea included ▲ wanting to live in Korea long-term (35.2%), ▲ high salary levels compared to their home country (27.7%), and ▲ wanting to work in fields of interest (25.6%).
Among those seeking employment, 63.6% wanted to work for more than three years.
To engage in employment activities after graduation under an employment contract, foreign students in South Korea must obtain a specific activity (E-7) visa. However, the proportion of respondents who said it is difficult to acquire an E-7 visa reached 66.7%. Major reasons included a lack of companies hiring with E-7 visas (40%), limited job categories for the E-7 visa (21.4%), and insufficient information on companies providing E-7 visas (19.6%).
Under the current system, the non-professional employment (E-9) visa is not permitted to be converted from a student (D-2) or job-seeking (D-10) visa; however, 58.8% of responding foreign students indicated they would acquire it if allowed. This indicates a desire to work in fields like production at small and medium enterprises. Among specialized associate degree foreign students, 67.2% expressed a desire to obtain an E-9 visa.
Respondents who expressed no intent to acquire an E-9 visa cited reasons such as ▲ feeling they would not be able to utilize their learned knowledge (43.5%), ▲ low salaries (20.7%), and ▲ poor working conditions (welfare, labor intensity, etc.) (15.8%).
Lee Myung-ro, head of the human resources policy department at the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises, noted that while many foreign students show a strong desire to work in South Korea, the difficulties in obtaining an E-7 visa limit actual employment opportunities. He also said that a thorough review of permitting the conversion of non-professional employment (E-9) visas is necessary so that small and medium enterprises can actively utilize foreign students with Korean language skills to alleviate labor shortages.
Currently, a bill regarding the employment of foreign workers that allows for employment in non-professional fields (E-9) for foreign students has been proposed in November 2024 and is pending in the National Assembly.