South Korea approved Friday plans to allow logistics companies here to sponsor E-9 visas for foreign workers amid what it called a "chronic labor shortage." Currently, employers in manufacturing, construction and farming can recruit worker from 16 countries in Southeast Asia and Central Asia to work on E-9 visas. But the plan, confirmed Friday at the Foreign Workers Policy Committee at the Government Comple.
The government has borrowed more than 100 trillion won ($74.5 billion) from the central bank so far this year, adding to concerns over shortfalls in tax revenue.
A civil defense siren was set to go off across the country on Wednesday, with vehicles on designated roads to be ordered to pull over and people to evacuate to shelters or underground facilities as South Korea holds the first air raid exercise in six years.
South Korea announced Wednesday that it seeks to revive the recently abolished conscripted police system populated by military draftees as an alternative to the regular mandatory military service to add up to 8,000 police within nine months to "significantly strengthen crime prevention capabilities," amid the recent surge of crimes seemingly targeting random people. "In order to enhance (the poli.