Starting next month, the government will temporarily lift punitive restrictions on employers that illegally hired foreigners.

According to the labor ministry, a three-year ban on violations on international hires involves one-thousand-453 businesses in the construction, manufacturing, agricultural and livestock, as well as fishing and service industries. Of these, 446 are in the construction sector alone.

The ministry is looking to lift the restriction three months after a business was penalized under the rule. Still, employers who have been either fined at least five million won or imprisoned for illegally issuing employment permits for foreigners will not benefit from the moratorium.

A ministry official said the latest move aims to ease a labor shortage in the construction industry, where hiring foreigners is inevitable due to an aging demographic of domestic workers.