The employment of foreign workers in Korea - Issues and policy suggestion

Since 1991 Korea has experienced a large influx of foreign workers. The number of foreign workers in Korea in 1992 was 100,000 but has grown to 160,000 in 1996. Most of them are Korean-Chinese, Filipino, Bangladeshis and other Asian workers. While the Korean-Chinese tend to work in the construction service and manufacturing industries, other Asians are concentrated in manufacturing. The Korean government has utilized trainee programs since 1992. About 10,000 Asian workers came to Korea under this program in 1992, and there were about 57,000 trainees in Korea in June 1996. However, the trainee program produced problems: the trainees tended to become undocumented workers due to wage differentials, and the trainees were not protected by the Labor Standard Law because they were not classified as laborers. Pointing out the problems of the trainee program in particular and the employment of foreign workers in general, this article suggests that: first, the employment of foreign workers should be minimized until the Korean labor market can promote skill advancement for local production workers, prevent local female workers from leaving the labor market, and utilize more of the potential Korean work force, such as married women, older and disabled people; and, second, in order to minimize the number of foreign illegal workers, the trainee program should be changed to a well-defined contract worker program.