SEOUL - South Korea's Ministry of Justice said Friday, Aug. 21, it has granted Skilled Worker (E-7-4) visas to two Sri Lankan migrant workers who helped rescue Air Force pilots from a 2022 fighter jet crash off Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province.

The ministry withheld the men's names but said the visas recognized their exceptional contribution to public safety, according to Yonhap News Agency, which first reported the decision. E-7-4 is a points-based work visa that lets holders switch employers freely and, after further years of residency, apply for Korea's F-5 permanent residency.

“We will continue to support foreigners who have made special contributions to our society so that they can live stably in the country,” Justice Minister Jung Sung-ho said.

The case dates to Aug. 12, 2022, when an Air Force F-4E Phantom returning from a mission caught fire and crashed into the Yellow Sea near Jebudo, off Hwaseong. Two pilots ejected before impact. The rear-seat pilot was injured and tangled in his parachute lines in deep water, according to Newsis, citing the military-run newspaper Kookbang Ilbo.

Sri Lankan workers from a nearby seaweed farm, led by a man identified in earlier reports as Ruwan, reached the pilots by boat, cut the tangled lines with farm tools and set off a smoke flare from the pilot's flight suit to guide the rescue helicopter.

Hwaseong's foreign-worker welfare center commended the group weeks later, but no lasting status change followed. Ruwan's work visa lapsed, and he became undocumented while dealing with illness and job loss, facing possible deportation, Wikitree reported in April.

Air Force headquarters, on learning of his situation, gathered evidence including a rescued pilot's account and asked the Justice Ministry to protect him. On April 10, the ministry waived Ruwan's unregistered-stay fines and granted him G-1 status, a temporary permit allowing work while his case was reviewed further, Korea Herald reported at the time.

Friday's E-7-4 grant moves both men onto Korea's standard skilled-worker track, typically reserved for foreigners who have already spent years in the country on other employment visas.

The ministry made a similar exception in 2018, granting full F-5 permanent residency to another Sri Lankan worker who saved an elderly woman from a house fire, the Korea Times reported at the time.