외국인고용허가제의 변천과 과제

The Employment Permit System(EPS) has been designed in accordance with the following principles: guarantee employment opportunities for domestic workers; assure companies' rights to select employees; ensure transparency in selecting and introducing foreign workers; prevent the settling down of foreign workers; protect the rights of foreign workers; guarantee foreign workers' legal employment while preventing illegal sojourn and interruption of restructuring. The EPS carries great significance because with the implementation of the system, the issue of foreign workers employment became the domain of labor market policies instead of the realm of immigration. However, the 「Act on Foreign Workers' Employment, etc.」 has undergone technical revisions in order to make it easier for companies to hire foreign workers, and this has affected the principles of the EPS, requiring it to change. Since the Korean society is rapidly aging, the shortage in skilled workforce will become more severe. In this regard, the EPS should seek a structural change with a future oriented vision. Such changes should include guaranteeing the freedom to change workplaces, granting permanent residency, introducing a system to eliminate discrimination, expanding the participation of the public in making policy decisions, establishing a comprehensive foreign workforce policy that covers professionals, and implementing a policy to separate labor inspection from immigration administration.