KITA chief calls foreign labor policy 'directly tied' to industrial competitiveness

The Korea International Trade Association (KITA) said Monday it hosted a forum on transitioning to a Korean-style foreign labor and immigration policy at Trade Tower in Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul.

The forum was organized to get ahead of the shrinking working-age population driven by the country's low birth rate and aging society, and to chart a medium- to long-term direction for foreign labor and immigration policy suited to Korea's industrial and social conditions. About 100 people attended, including KITA President Yoon Jin-sik, Kang Min-hwi, head of the International Organization for Migration's Korea office, and domestic and international experts, business representatives and officials from related organizations.

In his opening remarks, Yoon said foreign labor and immigration policy "goes beyond workforce supply and demand — it is directly tied to industrial competitiveness and the foundation for Korea's sustainable economic growth." He said the government must provide policy attention and build an institutional framework "so that companies can stably secure the talent they need and skilled workers can continue to contribute their capabilities."

Foreign experts invited to present at the forum noted that while institutional frameworks and labor market structures differ across countries, the effectiveness of foreign labor policy depends less on the sheer volume of arrivals and more on organically linking post-entry education, employment, skills development, visa status transitions and settlement.

Anna Maria Mayda, a professor at Georgetown University, outlined the United States' phased talent attraction model, which selectively channels talent entering through student visas and temporary work programs into long-term residency based on labor market demand.

Gracia Liu-Farrer, a professor at Waseda University, then described how Japan — without explicitly framing its approach as immigration — has developed a system in which foreign workers acquire skills through on-the-job training and corporate education, eventually transitioning to long-term and permanent residency. She recommended that Korea similarly link skills accumulation with pathways to status conversion.

Recommendations on private intermediaries and institutional frameworks followed. Yunxiang Xu, a professor at National Central University in Taiwan, flagged the high brokerage costs and turnover problems that can accompany rapid labor supply through private agencies, and said Korea should combine private-sector efficiency with public-sector accountability while linking skills development and job tenure to long-term residency.

Herbert Brücker, a professor at Humboldt University of Berlin, identified immigration as a key tool for addressing workforce decline and stressed the importance of an integrated settlement system connecting credential recognition, vocational training, language education and employment support.

The forum also shed light on how domestic trade companies are using foreign workers. A survey by KITA and the Industry-Academia Cooperation Foundation found that 73.4 percent of companies employing foreign workers said they have a positive impact on business operations. Companies identified their top priorities for improvement as streamlining visa issuance and change procedures, better matching workers to job functions, and building a foundation for job-focused training and the long-term retention of skilled workers.

Lee Gyu-yong, a senior research fellow at the Korea Labor Institute, said Korea's policy should move away from an intake-management approach focused on "how many people to admit and from where," and shift toward a utilization-centered strategy that integrates skills development, career advancement, status transitions and regional settlement for foreign workers.

KITA plans to share the forum's key recommendations with academic and industry experts, gather additional feedback and publish a policy recommendation report in August.

Meanwhile, KITA has been stepping up its outreach. On July 2, Yoon chaired a meeting with export companies in the South Jeolla Province and Gwangju area, where he heard firsthand concerns including the need to secure skilled foreign workers, tax support for small modular reactors and expanded overseas marketing. KITA said it would convey those concerns to the government and relevant agencies to help translate them into policy and regulatory improvements.