Ministry of Employment and Labor: ”Seoul City cannot hire foreign drivers for community buses” - South Korea

The Ministry of Employment and Labor has stated that it is currently difficult to issue non-professional employment (E-9) visas to foreigners hiring community bus drivers in Seoul.
According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor on the 1st, the ministry plans to reply to the Office of Government Policy Coordination regarding this matter this week.
Professional occupations that require a driver's license for large vehicles are excluded from the issuance of E-9. Bus drivers are only given a bus driver's license after driving for about a year after obtaining a large vehicle license, so the law must be revised in order for them to be issued an E-9.
Prior to this, the Seoul Metropolitan Government proposed to the Office for Government Policy Coordination in late October that the transportation industry be included in the scope of E-9 visa issuance under the next reform of regulations.
However, the Office for Government Policy Coordination sought the opinion of the Ministry of Employment and Labor, which is the ministry responsible for issuing E-9 visas, and the Ministry of Employment and Labor replied, "The current system
"It will be difficult to accept them under the current circumstances, and this will have to be a long-term issue," the Seoul Metropolitan Government said. "Since visa procedures are a national task, we have no choice but to follow the opinion of the Ministry of Employment and Labor."
Meanwhile, the National Automobile Workers' Union also commented on Seoul's proposal, "The real reason it is difficult to secure community bus drivers is the low wages and heavy workload. We need to improve the poor working conditions and
It is necessary to make salary and other treatment more realistic," he said, expressing his opposition.