South Korea will improve its visa issuance system to attract more talented foreign workers as part of efforts to tackle its declining labor force, the labor ministry said Monday.

The government said it will relax the current points-based system to allow more talented foreign workers to emigrate to the country.

Under the present system, high-scoring foreign talent are granted the F2 visa, which removes all restrictions on work, if they stay for one year and the F5 visa for permanent stay if they stay three more years after acquiring F2 status.

These foreigners will be directly granted the F5 visa for permanent stay if they live in the country for at least one year, the government said.

Foreign workers who meet certain requirements for income and amount of investment, and investors and students taking master's or doctorate programs in South Korean universities will also be allowed to reside in the country together with their parents, the ministry said.

To lure more foreign students to work in South Korea after they finish studying, the government will seek to improve links between schools and companies, and relax requirements for their employment.

As for manual workers, the government will work to reform the current employment allowance system to prevent the creation of idle manpower and select additional categories of businesses allowed to recruit foreign employees.

But the government is considering imposing a levy on some workplaces that excessively depend on foreign manpower for more than 10 years.

Apart from the plan to lure more foreign talent, the government will seek to enhance flexibility and stability in the labor market at the same time, aiming to narrow the wage gap between regular and irregular workers.

The government plans to soon work out a follow-up plan to improve flexibility in the labor market, with its focus on relaxing requirements for the dismissal of regular workers. The government plans to put this up for discussion at a trilateral commission representing labor, management and the government. 

The government wants to reach an agreement on the reform plan before the year end, but the plan is likely to draw a fierce backlash from labor circles.

Other efforts will be directed at increasing flexibility in the management of manpower, in terms of wages, work hours and work contracts, and relaxing regulations on the use of dispatched or contract-based workers, the ministry said. (Yonhap)