SEOUL: South Korea aims to issue a record number of visas for foreign skilled workers this year, as the justice minister announced on Wednesday a fifteen-fold increase in the annual quota to 30,000 in order to help companies overcome staffing shortages.

With younger South Koreans reluctant to take up blue-collar jobs, the industrial and farming sectors of Asia’s fourth-largest economy are struggling to fill vacancies.

Since its introduction, the annual quota for the E-7-4 visa programme has gradually risen from 300 in 2017 to 2,000 in 2022.

This year’s jump will be the largest by far and should help address chronic shortages of skilled workers in the manufacturing and agricultural sectors, a justice ministry official said. South Korea had initially planned to cap this year’s quota at 5,000.

The presidential office quoted Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon as telling a government meeting that it should end “talk of foreigners being unable to come due to insufficient quota.”

In response to requests from industry, the criteria for visa applications will also be relaxed, the ministry said.