Foreign worker wages in South Korea are rising, with more than twice as many earning over 3 million won per month compared to 2020
More than 300,000 foreign nationals in South Korea now hold a non-professional employment (E-9) visa, surpassing the 300,000 mark for the first time. Meanwhile, nearly four in ten foreign wage earners — 37.1 percent — receive a monthly salary of at least 3 million won (about $2,060), according to the latest findings from Statistics Korea. In comparison, Korean wage earners’ average monthly income stood at 3.63 million won in 2023.
On Tuesday, Statistics Korea released detailed results from its 2024 Survey on the Status of Residence and Employment of Immigrants. The main survey was conducted jointly with the Ministry of Justice and published in December 2024 to inform policy on employment, residence management and the social integration of immigrants in Korea.
Among 1.561 million foreign nationals residing in the country, 303,000 held an E-9 visa in 2024. The visa was introduced specifically to address labor shortages in manufacturing, agriculture, fisheries and certain service sectors. Of the E-9 holders, 99.7 percent (302,000 individuals) were employed. By industry, manufacturing and service comprised the largest share (80.5 percent), followed by agriculture/forestry/fisheries (14.4 percent) and construction (3.0 percent).
Across all visa categories, 51.2 percent of foreign wage earners received monthly pay of 2 million to 3 million won, and 37.1 percent earned 3 million won or more — a notable jump from 16.4 percent in 2020. By visa or residency status, the proportion earning 3 million won or above was highest for permanent residents (55.2 percent), followed by professional workers (46.5 percent), overseas Koreans (46.1 percent) and visiting workers (41.8 percent). Within the non-professional E-9 category alone, that figure stood at 28.0 percent.
The data also showed a pronounced difference in the visa distribution between men and women. Men held 90.9 percent of E-9 visas, followed by 71.8 percent of professional visas and 57.3 percent of visiting employment visas. By contrast, 79.6 percent of marriage visa holders and 53.3 percent of international student visa holders were women.
By nationality, those who identified as Korean Chinese made up the largest group of visa holders (31.6 percent), followed by Vietnamese nationals (15.0 percent), resulting in an overall Asian majority of 91.0 percent among foreign residents.
Geographically, 59.0 percent of all foreigners reside in the Seoul metropolitan area, with the rate even higher among certain categories such as visiting workers (80.3 percent), permanent residents (77.0 percent) and overseas Koreans (76.9 percent).
mjh@heraldcorp.com
