September 2026 · E-7-4 and E-7-4R Employment Allowance Rules
An employer with both E-7-4 skilled workers and E-7-4R regional skilled workers may be able to recommend additional workers even after reaching the cap in the regional employment table. The Immigration Residence Manual counts workers in both categories together but allows the general E-7-4 limit to apply when it is more favorable to the employer. Where the regional cap stays fixed despite an increase in qualifying Korean employees, applying the general limit can make room for additional recommendations.
1. Key provisions
(a) Combined headcount and the general limit
An employer using both E-7-4 and E-7-4R is generally subject to the regional employment allowance. Existing E-7-4 and E-7-4R workers count toward a single combined limit. Employer recommendations must also remain within the business’s employment allowance.
The regional rules combine a percentage of the Korean workforce with a cap for the relevant headcount band. A business with 51 to 100 qualifying Korean employees may employ up to 50% of that number, subject to a maximum of 35 workers. With 80 qualifying Korean employees, the cap limits the allowance to 35, even though 50% of that workforce would be 40.
Outside the construction sector, the general E-7-4 limit is ordinarily 30% of the qualifying Korean workforce, while a 50% rule applies to businesses in designated population-decline areas, root industries, agriculture, livestock farming and fisheries. The manual expressly provides for the more favorable general limit, citing, among other cases, such businesses with more than 71 qualifying Korean employees. This provision allows a business employing both categories to use the general rule and exceed the regional cap of 35 within the 51-to-100-employee band discussed above.
(b) Additional places for an employer with 80 Korean employees
Suppose a manufacturer in a designated population-decline area employs 80 Korean employees, 30 E-7-4 workers and 5 E-7-4R workers. In this hypothetical example, all 80 Korean employees meet the minimum-wage requirement and have been enrolled in employment insurance for at least three months, so they qualify for the headcount calculation.
The employer has reached the regional limit, but applying the general rule for the population-decline area increases its allowance to 40 and permits five additional recommendations. The 40-worker limit covers both categories together.
2. Implications
In this example, the employer can pursue five additional status changes without hiring more Korean employees or waiting for existing skilled workers to leave. Its location in a population-decline area and qualifying Korean headcount provide the basis for applying the general rule and making recommendations above the regional table’s cap. Even with those five additional places, each worker must meet the points, employment-contract and other eligibility requirements. A change to E-7-4R also requires a local-government recommendation.
Moving an existing E-7-4 worker to E-7-4R leaves the combined headcount unchanged, so it creates no additional place. An E-9 worker, by contrast, is excluded from this skilled-worker limit until changing to E-7-4 or E-7-4R. If the manufacturer changes five of its existing E-9 workers to either skilled-worker category, its overall workforce remains the same, but its combined skilled-worker headcount rises from 35 to 40. The five places available under the general rule can therefore be used to move existing E-9 employees into skilled-worker status and support their longer-term retention.
Law Firm Lawyeon Immigration Law Center provides legal services specialized in the integrated handling of Korean immigration and visa matters together with criminal cases and immigration-violation reviews, built on extensive case experience, professional networks, and practical knowledge.
The Center brings together attorneys Junwoo Min, Dohyun Nam, and Seungchul Kim, criminal-law specialists with extensive immigration advisory experience, and Senior Advisor Taemin Ahn. Mr Ahn has served at the Seoul Global Center, headed a Ministry of Justice Global Start-up Immigration Center, and served on the Foreign Workers' Rights Protection Council of the Seoul Regional Employment and Labor Administration. Together, they established Law Firm Lawyeon's dedicated immigration practice.
In particular, for departure orders and entry-ban dispositions that follow a final criminal conviction, the Center presents effective solutions through an integrated strategy spanning criminal defense, objections to the disposition, and applications to lift the entry ban, and it supports stable business activity in Korea by managing many clients' immigration risk.
This article is intended as general information about the relevant legal framework and is not legal advice on any individual matter. Determinations concerning immigration status may differ depending on specific facts such as residence history, income and contractual relationships. If your situation requires individual review, you may request a consultation with the Immigration Law Center of Law Firm Lawyeon (lawyeon-immigration.com).