K-Tech Pass Opens New Tracks to Help Companies Recruit Global Talent

# K-Tech Pass Opens New Tracks to Help Companies Recruit Global Talent

• Qualitative-assessment track and government scholar-recruitment program track begin
• Justice Ministry reforms extend expedited Top-Tier visa issuance to the new categories

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources, led by Minister Kim Jung-gwan, formally launched two new K-Tech Pass tracks on Thursday, July 2: a qualitative-assessment track and a track linked to government programs for recruiting distinguished scholars. K-Tech Pass is a program that provides outstanding global talent in advanced industries with a Top-Tier Visa, formally the Outstanding Talent Residence Visa, along with comprehensive settlement support in education, housing and taxation.

Under the existing track, eligible global talent had to be foreign nationals with employment contracts at Korean advanced-industry companies and meet quantitative requirements such as holding a master's or doctoral degree in engineering from a global top 100 university, having experience at a global top 500 company or research institution, or earning at least 3 times per-capita gross national income. The system, however, was limited because quantitative criteria alone could not fully reflect companies' actual recruitment needs.

To overcome this limitation, the qualitative-assessment track combines quantitative and qualitative review instead of relying only on quantitative criteria. Eligibility is assessed through quantitative evaluation worth 65 points, qualitative evaluation worth 35 points and up to 10 bonus points. A K-Tech Pass can be issued when qualitative review recognizes a global recruit's technical expertise and the necessity of the position, allowing the program to better support real hiring demand. The track also awards 10 bonus points to small and medium-sized enterprises and middle-market companies to help them recruit global talent.

The government-linked scholar recruitment track is a new route that issues K-Tech Passes to outstanding global talent selected through government ministry programs for recruiting distinguished scholars. It is designed to make Top-Tier visas and related benefits more accessible to participants already certified through government programs. Eligible programs are the Industry Ministry's program to recruit top-level global talent, the Health Ministry's program to recruit top-level global talent in biotechnology, and the Korea AeroSpace Administration's global aerospace workforce development program.

The new categories were prepared after actively gathering difficulties reported by companies and consulting closely with the Ministry of Justice and other agencies. In line with the Industry Ministry's new tracks, the Justice Ministry revised related notices and systems, including waiving the Korean-language requirement.

- Before: Completion of Level 1 of the Korea Immigration and Integration Program or TOPIK Level 1 or higher → After: Exempt

※ The Notice on Eligibility Criteria and Target Groups for Outstanding Talent (Top-Tier) was amended and took effect on June 1.

As a result, outstanding technical talent approved by the Industry Ministry through the qualitative-assessment track and top scholars recruited through ministry programs under the government-linked track can now receive an expedited Outstanding Talent Residence Visa (F-2-T) at the same time their K-Tech Pass is issued, even if they had difficulty meeting the existing quantitative requirements.

Lee Min-woo, director general for industrial policy at the Industry Ministry, said, “Unlike the existing quantitative-assessment method, the addition of qualitative review is expected to enable more global talent to enter more companies.” He added, “The ministry will continue doing its utmost to help top global talent join Korean companies and settle in the country.”

Detailed information, including K-Tech Pass application procedures, is available on KOTRA's Global Talent Center website at www.kotra.or.kr/gtc_kor.