Demand for cross-border movement of professional manpower increasing in FTA talks
Business Korea | 12 August 2014
Core FTA Issue
Demand for cross-border movement of professional manpower increasing in FTA talks
The Korean government is planning to carry out a commissioned study on the import of professional manpower such as consultants, engineers and lawyers and its impact on the domestic job market, as the issue is emerging in the recent FTA talks including those between Korea and China.
When the manpower market is opened, corporations can hire better elite workers through free competition. However, if that happens, the unemployment situation could get worse in the domestic professional job market. The import of manufacturing workers is expected to be excluded from the scope of the study.
“These days, the demand for the free movement of professional manpower is on the rise in FTA negotiations across the world,” the Ministry of Employment explained, adding, “The goal of the research is look into other countries’ cases in which such cross-border hiring is allowed, with the protection of job opportunities ensured, and seek better measures for the FTA talks.”
The Chinese government has made a strong request for the free movement of professional manpower. The opening of the employment market covering manufacturing workers is slated to be handled through separate negotiations. Still, the focus of the study lies in follow-up measures for market opening and foreign case studies, so many people think the government is preparing to open the gate. “What we are going to do with the study is respond preemptively and effectively to China’s demand, but we are not preparing to open the segment as of now,” the ministry continued.
