Foreigners with excellent Korean language skills and a Korean studies major will have easier entry into Korea

Going forward, foreigners with a Korean studies degree and a TOPIK level 6 proficiency will find it easier to enter Korea.

The Ministry of Justice (Minister Jeong Seong-ho) announced that three systems will be implemented starting October 29th in response to industry demands for promising local talent to participate in domestic internship programs to enhance the global competitiveness of companies expanding overseas.

First, ① students with the highest Korean language proficiency (TOPIK Level 6) in a Korean studies major at an overseas university and ② graduates of universities ranked within the top 200 in the world will have their job-seeking and employment visa requirements relaxed or exempted, providing them with more freedom in domestic job-seeking and employment opportunities.

This includes nine countries, including Vietnam, China, Thailand, Japan, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines, which are ranked within the top 1,000 in the QS World University Rankings. These students will be exempt from the points system and financial requirements for the Job-Seeking (D-10-1) visa, and from the major and career requirements for the Special Activities (E-7) visa.

In addition, ③ foreigners who are 29 years of age or younger, have a bachelor's degree or higher in a science or engineering field from a university ranked within the top 1,000 of the QS rankings of the 9 countries mentioned above, and have Korean language skills equivalent to TOPIK Level 2 will be given extra points (20 points) when applying for a job-seeking (D-10-1) visa and will be exempted from the work experience requirement when reviewing a specific activity (E-7) visa.

Second, we have established the "Corporate-Tailored Internship (K-Trainee) Program." This program allows ① undergraduate students (including master's and doctoral students) in their third year or higher, supported and trained by Korean companies advancing overseas through industry-academic collaboration with local universities, and ② foreign talent hired by overseas subsidiaries to participate in internships at their domestic headquarters and develop their professional skills. This program targets the nine Asian countries mentioned above and will be piloted for two years before a decision is made on whether to expand the program. This program is not open to foreigners, and Korean companies must apply to the immigration office or foreigner registration office in their jurisdiction.

Third, the Ministry of Justice has also improved the D-10 visa system to support employment and settlement for international students graduating from domestic universities. This system has expanded the existing two-year stay on the D-10 visa to three years, and has also expanded the internship period for job seekers to reflect the needs of the field.

Minister of Justice Jeong Seong-ho said, “We have listened to the voices from the field and established policies to provide various channels for talent acquisition and recruitment to help our companies cultivate and recruit promising talent they want, and to strengthen the competitiveness of companies by sending talent back to overseas subsidiaries.” He added, “We plan to continue to establish various policies to secure talent and support their settlement in Korea by reflecting the actual needs of the industry.”

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