Seongju-gun Takes Action to Address Corporate Labor Shortages by Attracting Foreign Talent

Briefing Sessions for SMEs: On-Site Guidance

Supporting Local Settlement, Addressing Regional Decline, and Enhancing Industrial Competitiveness

Seongju-gun, North Gyeongsang Province, has launched a full-scale initiative to promote the regional-based visa system in order to attract outstanding foreign talent and address workforce shortages faced by local companies.

On July 7, Seongju-gun held the 'Visiting Regional-Based Visa System Briefing Session' at the Seongju-gun Industrial Complex Innovation Support Center for representatives of local small and medium-sized enterprises seeking to employ foreign workers.

On-site at the 'Visiting Local-Based Visa System Briefing Session'
Photo by Seongju-gun

This briefing session was part of a joint initiative by North Gyeongsang Province, the K-Dream Foreigners Support Center, and Seongju-gun. It was designed to help companies better understand and utilize the regional-based visa system.

Participants received detailed information on the purpose of the system, eligibility requirements, application procedures, and were also offered consultations on strategies for hiring foreign workers.

The regional-based visa system issues residency visas to foreigners who work for companies in population-declining areas and reside in those regions, supporting their stable settlement in the local community.

The system has been jointly implemented by the Ministry of Justice and local governments since 2023, and is emerging as a key policy to respond to the crisis of local extinction and to revitalize regional economies.

In particular, compared to existing visa programs, the new system imposes fewer restrictions on length of stay and employment sectors, and allows for family accompaniment, making it increasingly attractive to foreigners. From the companies' perspective, it helps them secure highly qualified foreign workers for long-term employment, offering a solution to chronic labor shortages.

Seongju-gun plans to further promote region-specific and metropolitan-based visa systems, and to pursue a variety of support programs for companies and foreign nationals to enhance the competitiveness of local industries.

Chun Hwa-sik, Mayor of Seongju-gun, stated, "The regional-based visa system not only helps resolve workforce shortages for companies, but also greatly assists in the stable settlement of foreigners in the region. We will actively support the creation of an environment where companies and foreigners can grow together, thereby invigorating the regional economy."

The greatest challenge facing local small and medium-sized enterprises is securing talent. Attention is being paid to whether the regional-based visa system can become a new growth strategy that goes beyond simple foreign recruitment to help overcome population decline and the risk of regional extinction.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.