More than 300-thousand foreign nationals are residing in South Korea on E-9 visas for nonprofessional workers, with most employed in the mining and manufacturing industries.
 
Statistics Korea announced on Tuesday the results of a 2024 survey on immigrant employment, based on its Survey on Immigrants’ Living Conditions and Labor Force, released in December.

Last year, there were one-point-56 million foreign nationals in the country, with 303-thousand in nonprofessional employment, the first time the number has exceeded 300-thousand.

Of the total, 80-point-five percent of workers with nonprofessional working permits were employed in mining and manufacturing, 14-point-four percent in agriculture, forestry, and fisheries and three percent in construction. 

Employment in mining and manufacturing was also the highest among professional personnel at 50-point-five percent, 34-point-four percent of marriage immigrants, 32-point-seven percent of permanent residents and 31-point-three percent of overseas Koreans working in the sector. 

For international students and "work and visit" visa holders, wholesale and retail accounted for the highest proportion at 75-point-nine percent, while lodging and restaurant businesses followed at 31-point-four percent. 

Around 51 percent of foreign workers received an average monthly wage of between two million and three million won, primarily those with work permits for nonprofessionals.

Another 37 percent, mainly those with permanent residency and overseas Koreans, earned more than three million won.

Those who said they experienced discrimination accounted for 17-point-four percent of the total respondents, with 27-point-seven percent of international students citing the same. 

Discrimination was also experienced by 23-point-seven percent of professionals, 22-point-three percent of marriage immigrants and eleven-point-five percent of nonprofessionals.
 
In the case of nonprofessional employees, Korean proficiency was the most common reason for discrimination.

Lee Hyoung-il, the head of Statistics Korea, said the hope is this data will be actively used to analyze the lives of foreign nationals in South Korea and help establish immigration policies related to the domestic population, society and economy.