A majority of foreign workers who applied to be rehired in South Korea have received a reemployment permit thanks to their “exemplary” working records, the Labor Ministry said.

Under the current law, foreign manual workers can apply to be rehired by the same employers if they have not left their designated workplaces during a certain period of stay.

From July, the government softened the laws by allowing those “exemplary” foreign workers to be re-employed three months after returning home, which is shorter than six months enforced under the previous laws.

They do not have to undergo a Korean-language proficiency test.

The law revision is aimed at helping small firms here retain skilled migrant workers while preventing those with expired visas from overstaying.

South Korea, which has invited foreign workers in for low-paying jobs at small and medium-sized firms since 2004, plans to allow in 57,000 foreign workers this year, up from 48,000 in 2011.

Of the 703 foreign workers whose legal stay period expired in July, 76 percent or 536 left for their countries after receiving the reemployment permit, the labor ministry said.

About 50 percent or 717 out of foreign workers whose stay expires in August have also received the reemployment permit, it added.

Meanwhile, those who fail to meet the requirement of not leaving their designated workplaces during their stay should apply for reemployment by taking a Korean language test, the ministry said.

If they pass the exam, they can be rehired by their same employers six months after staying in their home countries. In July alone, the labor ministry said that a total of 3,625 foreign workers from eight different countries passed the language test. (Yonhap News)