What is EPS?

After signing a labor contract, foreign workers have to go through a program for job capacity development carried out by the labor-sending country and receive preliminary job training and medical check-up in Korea, which takes about 80 hours in total and are necessary for adaptation to Korean society.

As soon as they enter Korea, they are required to receive 20-hour employment education at government-designated foreign workforce training organization and go through a medical check-up again.

Under EPS, employment of foreign workers is allowed for three years to prevent them from staying permanently. Therefore, after three years, migrant workers need to return to their home country. However, those who leave Korea after working for three years can re-enter and work for another three years after six months from their departure. If employers want to continue to hire their workers after three-year visa period expires, those workers can re-enter Korea and work for three years more after one month from their departure.

For transparent employment management of foreign workforce such as wage, working hours and bonus, it is mandatory to use a standard labor contract.

As a measure to guarantee foreign workers' retirement allowance, employer must purchase a departure guarantee insurance and trust, which is to ease the burden of employers to pay retirement allowances to all migrant workers at the same time. Also, the insurance and trust is to guarantee workers' returning to their own countries after legal staying period expires.

Foreign workers need to purchase a return cost insurance and an accident insurance for the expense needed to return to their home countries and for accident and diseases unrelated to work.

Entering Korea, foreign workers are required to be registered as a foreigner at immigration office in their staying area or its branch office within 90 days of their entrance. They should start working at workplace of the employer with whom they signed a labor contract before they entered Korea. However, if there is a proper reason that they cannot work at the enterprise they signed before entrance, those workers can change their workplace with help from a job center. For Koreans with a foreign nationality, they can change workplace by just reporting it. Employers hiring foreign workers illegally are prohibited for three years from employing migrant workers.

Foreign workers under EPS are treated equally as domestic workers and can be protected by labor laws such as Labor Standards Act, Minimum Wage Act, Industrial Safety and Health Act and their basic labor rights are guaranteed. Also, discrimination against them is forbidden. When their employer violates the labor contract and lay them off unfairly, they can bring the case to the Labor Relations Commission, National Human Rights Commission, and a court for salvage.

For social insurances, Industrial Accident Compensation and National Health Insurances are mandatory and Employment Insurance can be bought when foreign workers want. As for National Pension, a principle of reciprocity is applied.