The two localities announced that they are recruiting foreign workers under the E-7-3 metropolitan visa, which allows local governments to set their own recruitment criteria tailored to local industrial needs. The pilot program will run for two years starting in 2025.

As the RoK’s two largest shipbuilding hubs, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang plan to recruit 980 skilled workers for welding and painting jobs from four countries, including Vietnam, Thailand, Uzbekistan and Indonesia. Of the total, Ulsan will recruit 440 workers, while South Gyeongsang will hire 540, all of whom will be assigned to local shipyards.

Unlike the standard E-7 skilled worker visa, the newly introduced E-7-3 category simplifies requirements related to work experience and educational background, while placing greater emphasis on verifying practical shipbuilding skills and Korean-language proficiency.

South Gyeongsang has established a dedicated evaluation panel comprising veteran shipbuilding craftsmen and Korean-language professors. The panel will assess candidates’ practical skills directly in their countries of residence.

Kang Ki-jung, a policy planning official at the Ulsan Metropolitan administration, said verification of applicants’ work experience is conducted locally overseas. Given the surge in demand in the shipbuilding sector, provincial authorities have set tailored criteria to attract the skilled manpower urgently needed by the industry.

Under the pilot scheme, 26 Indonesian painters entered the RoK on December 15 and are set to begin work at Hanwha Ocean’s shipyard in Geoje, South Gyeongsang Province, from January. Earlier, 49 Vietnamese welders arrived in the RoK and have already started working at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries’ shipyard in Ulsan.

Ulsan and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries are also running specialized overseas training programs for foreign workers from Vietnam, Uzbekistan and other countries. The courses, lasting three to six months, provide Korean-language instruction alongside shipbuilding skills training, including welding and painting.

A boom in shipbuilding orders has sharply increased labor demand, while RoK shipyards continue to struggle with a shortage of skilled workers. According to the Shipbuilding and Marine Human Resources Development Committee (ISC), the labor shortfall rate in the shipbuilding sector reached 14.7% in 2024, double the national average.

Ulsan estimates that the shipbuilding industry will require an additional 13,000 workers by 2027. A city official noted that many young Koreans are avoiding shipyard jobs due to their physically demanding and hazardous nature, making the recruitment of foreign workers increasingly urgent.

Against this backdrop, the metropolitan visa program is seen as a practical solution, enabling local administrations in the RoK to respond more flexibly to pressing labor shortages while ensuring the fulfillment of shipbuilding orders.

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