KUALA LUMPUR - Ulsan and Gyeongsangnam-do have launched a two-year trial of South Korea’s regional-type visa (E-7-3) to address labour shortages in the shipbuilding industry by recruiting foreign skilled workers.

Under the scheme, the two regions plan to bring in nearly 1,000 welders and painters from Vietnam, Thailand, Uzbekistan and Indonesia to work directly at shipyard sites.

Ulsan and Gyeongsangnam-do, both major shipbuilding hubs, aim to recruit a combined total of 980 workers over two years, with Ulsan taking 440 and Gyeongsangnam-do 540.

Last month, 49 Vietnamese welders entered South Korea under the regional-type visa and began working at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries in Ulsan.

Earlier this month, 26 Indonesian painters also arrived to work at Hanwha Ocean’s Geoje shipyard in Gyeongsangnam-do.

Unlike the existing specific activity visa (E-7), the regional-type visa relaxes requirements on overseas work experience and academic background while placing greater emphasis on verifying shipbuilding skills and Korean language proficiency.

Kang Gi-jung, a policy planning officer from Ulsan City, said verifying overseas work experience had been difficult, prompting the city to introduce new selection criteria focused on practical skills.

“It was difficult to verify the work experience foreign workers had accumulated overseas.

“We established criteria to bring in talent equipped with the essential skills required on shipbuilding sites,” he said.

Ulsan City and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries are also training so-called customised foreign workers in countries such as Vietnam and Uzbekistan before their entry into South Korea.

The programmes provide three to six months of instruction in shipbuilding skills such as welding and painting, alongside Korean language training.

Gyeongsangnam-do has formed its own verification team comprising shipbuilding masters and Korean language professors to assess candidates’ practical abilities on site.

A source from Gyeongsangnam-do said Korean language proficiency was prioritised due to the hazardous nature of shipbuilding work.

“Since shipbuilding involves many hazardous tasks, companies prefer workers proficient in Korean.

“We only select workers who have achieved at least level 1 on the Test of Proficiency in Korean (TOPIK),” the source said.

The regional-type visa was introduced after the two local governments requested greater flexibility from the Ministry of Justice amid a surge in shipbuilding orders and persistent labour shortages.

According to the Shipbuilding and Marine Industry Human Resource Development Committee, the unfilled job rate in the shipbuilding sector last year stood at 14.7 per cent, nearly double the overall industry average of 8.3 per cent.

Ulsan City estimates that an additional 13,000 workers will be needed in the shipbuilding sector by 2027.

A source from Ulsan City said younger workers were increasingly avoiding the shipbuilding industry because of its demanding and hazardous conditions.

“Young people avoid the shipbuilding industry due to its demanding and hazardous nature.

“To handle the current order volume and prevent being overtaken by cheaper labor in China, securing foreign workers is urgent,” said the source.

A source from Gyeongsangnam-do said labour shortages remained severe in key technical fields despite the presence of foreign workers.

“Although many foreigners have been working in the shipbuilding sector, labor shortages in essential fields like welding, painting, and electrical work remain severe.

“The regional-type visa is becoming a viable solution,” said another source.

However, opposition has emerged from some local residents who argue that the policy could weaken domestic employment conditions in the shipbuilding sector.

The Ulsan Dong-gu Revitalisation Residents’ Assembly Organising Committee said it had submitted a petition last month calling for the abolition of the regional-type visa programme.

“As the number of foreign workers increases, the shipbuilding industry is becoming entrenched as a non-regular employment-centered sector.

“There is a risk that the technological capabilities of South Korea’s shipbuilding industry could decline,” the group said.

They said more than 6,500 residents had signed the petition and urged the government to focus on retaining skilled domestic workers.

“To resolve the labor shortage, the government should continue employing skilled domestic workers and improve the rational structure of subcontracting relationships,” it added.