Expatriate Labor in the Korean Market

Abstract

Concurrent with globalization, South Korea has experienced a gradual shortage of human capital in the form of well-educated engineers. One solution to this problem is to look to expatriate labor or "global talent", which could provide not only skilled individuals for the emerging services sector but also replenish a diminishing local pool of engineering talent (also known as "brain drain"). Further, increased economic globalization has intensified competition for such "global talent" and Korea must compete with other advanced countries already lobbying for these individuals. This study investigates two potential sources of skilled expatriate labor for the Korean domestic market: 1) second and third generation ethnic Koreans residing overseas and 2) foreigners studying at Korean universities for Ph.D. degrees, primarily in engineering fields. In order to become a competitive recruiter, however, South Korea must revamp and implement certain immigration policies to attract these pools of individuals to stay in the country. After discussing the status quo in Korea, in terms of the underlying situation as well as existing policies that deal with expatriate labor issues, we look at 'four other advanced countries' (the U.S., Canada, Germany, and Japan) policies to see which approaches have been the most successful and which best apply to the Korean case. In general, the most important variations between these four countries are first, how intensively countries have recruited expatriate labor and second their emphasis on a single national culture versus a "melting pot" of diverse cultures. Statistics on expatriate labor in Korea are used as a type of barometer to gauge where Korea stands in comparison to other advanced nations and where certain improvements might be warranted. We conclude by offering certain policy recommendations that will bolster Korea's competitiveness in recruiting and retaining global talent. ○ Key Points: - Korea is experiencing a depleting pool of local engineering science talent. - Korea must recruit capital to its market in order to remain competitive in the global economy. - Expatriate labor offers a viable source to remedy the "brain drain" and increase Korea's competitiveness. - Two potential groups of expatriate labor that Korea might focus on are 1) second and third generation ethnic Koreans residing overseas and 2) foreign Ph.D. students, studying at Korean universities. - Korea must thereby revamp and implement certain immigration policies to attract these two groups by learning from the experiences of other advanced nations who have been successful in expatriate labor recruitment and retention. - Specifically Korea should:· restrict its OPT-like program to benefit primarily graduates of four-year institutions, majoring in science and engineering- related fields· closely monitor the success of the Science Card· increase support for foreign postdoctorate students in engineering and the sciences, ad funded by the Ministry of Educations and awarded to top researchers at individual universities · create a national database of information on foreign students residing in Korea. This will help answer key questions to the existing data.