SEOUL: The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on Nov 18 that it intends to hire foreigners as bus drivers on local community routes, as the city struggles to address a chronic labour shortage in the transport sector.
The Korean Herald reported that in October, the city government requested the Government Policy Coordination Office to expand the E-9 visa programme to include the transport sector and extend the employment period for E-9 visa holders from three to five years.
Currently, E-9 visas are issued to foreigners working in non-professional sectors such as manufacturing and agriculture.
This scheme is based on a pilot project launched in September, whereby residents here could hire women from the Philippines as domestic helpers.
Local buses known in Korean as 'maeul' operate on short routes within specific communities, connecting residents to key locations and facilities within the district, including larger bus stops and subway stations.
Maeul operating companies in Seoul are struggling with a labour shortage due to insufficient applicants to replace retiring drivers.
According to the Seoul Institute, there needs to be an average of 2.48 drivers per bus to fully operate all 1,638 community buses in the city.
However, as of October, the industry faced a shortage of 600 drivers, or approximately 20 per cent.
To address the shortage of maeul bus drivers, the Seoul Institute stated that the industry needs to hire up to 1,247 foreign workers.
The city government added that maeul companies are also grappling with issues because drivers in their 60s accounted for 1,322 of the 2,815 drivers, as of September.
This was followed by drivers in their 50s and 70s, with 565 and 536 drivers, respectively.