The Ministry of Justice said on the 31st it will create the Regional Stay Support Division and the Overseas Koreans Stay Integration Division in Jan. next year.
The Regional Stay Support Division will be launched on Jan. 1 next year. It is an organization to promote foreigner stay and visa policies that reflect regional characteristics in line with the government's policy direction of balanced regional development and revitalizing regional economies.
The Ministry of Justice plans to expand and develop the region-specialized visa system through the Regional Stay Support Division. Using this system, the government grants stay exceptions to foreigners recommended by local government heads on the condition that they reside, work, or start a business for a set period in areas with population decline. The Ministry of Justice plans to rationally improve rules so that regional corporations can more easily hire outstanding foreigners.
In addition, the Ministry of Justice will evaluate the results of the pilot project for the "metropolitan-type visa system," in which metropolitan local governments directly participate in designing visa issuance requirements, and prepare an integrated policy package to help outstanding foreigners settle in the regions, including expanding stay qualifications. Currently, foreigners must choose one of two statuses, a student visa (D-2) or an employment visa (E-7), but going forward they will be able to hold both.
The "seasonal worker program," under which foreign workers enter during periods of high labor demand in agriculture and fisheries to work short-term and return to their home countries, will be reinforced. Penalties will be strengthened if private brokers without authority to select, refer, or hire seasonal workers intervene, and the designation and operation of specialized institutions to support basic local governments will be codified.
On Jan. 5 next year, the Overseas Koreans Stay Integration Division will be launched. It is a dedicated department for overseas Koreans revived 17 years after the Foreign Nationals of Korean Descent Division was abolished at the Ministry of Justice in 2008. The organization is being created to strengthen tailored support and the social safety net for about 860,000 overseas Koreans residing in Korea with diverse nationalities and cultural backgrounds.
Overseas Koreans seeking to engage in economic activities in Korea mainly enter on an overseas Korean visa (F-4) or a visit-and-employment visa (H-2). With an H-2 visa, they must take mostly unskilled labor jobs and can stay in the country for up to 4 years and 10 months. It is issued to overseas Koreans from China and countries in the former Soviet region. The F-4 visa allows most economic activities freely except unskilled labor and permits relatively free, long-term stays in Korea. It is issued to former Korean nationals and their direct descendants.
The Ministry of Justice plans to integrate the F-4 and H-2 stay statuses for overseas Koreans into F-4, and the Overseas Koreans Stay Integration Division will handle this work. It will also develop a social integration education course and support stable residence and integration for overseas Koreans.
Since 2008, the Ministry of Justice has operated 23 nonprofit Overseas Koreans Stay Support Centers to help overseas Koreans residing in Korea settle. Using the 2 billion won in operating funds secured for the first time this year, it plans to strengthen services for visas, immigration, residence, permanent residency, nationality, employment, and daily life support for overseas Koreans.
As of last month, there were a total of 861,185 overseas Koreans residing in Korea. By nationality, there were 665,370 from China (77.3%), 54,532 from the United States (6.3%), 41,252 from Uzbekistan (4.8%), 37,155 from Russia (4.3%), 21,880 from Kazakhstan (2.5%), and 18,284 from Canada (2.1%).
By stay status (visa), there were 556,208 overseas Koreans (F-4) (64.6%), 160,468 permanent residents (F-5) (18.6%), 84,382 visit-and-employment (H-2) (9.8%), 18,704 family visit cohabitation (F-1) (2.2%), and 15,462 marriage migrants (F-6) (1.8%).