F-4 Hiring in Korea: 37 Restricted Jobs and 10 Newly Allowed Occupations

F-4 (Overseas Korean) holders can be hired for most occupations. Ministry of Justice Notice No. 2026-65, effective February 12, 2026, restricts 37 occupations: 29 simple labor occupations and 8 service and sales occupations. Work that goes against good morals, such as working at gambling business premises or as an entertainment hostess at an adult entertainment bar, is also restricted. Ten occupations, including simple construction workers, simple loading and unloading workers and gas station attendants, were removed from the restricted list by this notice and can now be filled by F-4 holders.

Which jobs can an F-4 holder be hired for?

Article 23(3) of the Enforcement Decree of the Immigration Act provides that F-4 holders are not subject to the activity limits of each status category except when they engage in simple labor, in acts against good morals or social order, or in work that must be restricted for the public interest or to maintain domestic employment order. However, under the proviso to item 1 of the same paragraph, a person recognized by the Minister of Justice as residing or seeking work in a depopulation area is excluded from the simple labor restriction. Under Article 27-2(3) of the Enforcement Rule, the Minister of Justice sets the specific scope by notice.

What are the 29 restricted simple labor occupations?

Attachment 1 of the notice restricts the following 29 simple labor occupations under the Korean Standard Classification of Occupations.

• Moving and delivery: household goods movers, postal mail carriers, parcel couriers, express delivery workers (quick service and delivery agency riders), regular food and beverage delivery workers, regular newspaper delivery workers, other regular delivery workers, restaurant delivery workers, other delivery workers
• Cleaning and collection: building cleaners, transport equipment cleaners, facility and equipment cleaners, garbage collectors, street and public place cleaners, recyclables collectors, other cleaning workers
• Building management and sales: apartment security guards, other building caretakers, flyer distributors and poster hangers, other simple sales workers
• Other services: forest fire watchers, meter readers, gas inspectors, parking lot attendants, shoe shiners, laundry and ironing workers, ticket checkers, environmental monitors, other simple service workers

The notice describes each “other” occupation as similar duties not included in any of the sub-classifications above. Even if a job title differs from the list, similar simple work may still be restricted.

What are the 8 restricted service and sales occupations?

Attachment 2 of the notice restricts the following 8 occupations for the public interest and domestic employment order.

• Foot care workers (foot care within skin care workers)
• Bath attendants
• Wedding hall workers
• Karaoke room attendants
• Other amusement facility attendants (such as PC room and video room workers)
• Golf caddies
• Liquor service workers
• Street and mobile vendors

Which 10 occupations became open to F-4 holders in 2026?

As H-2 (Working Visit) is merged into F-4, the Ministry of Justice decided to extend step by step the simple labor work that had been allowed for H-2 holders to F-4 holders, and removed the following 10 occupations from the restricted list.

The previous notice (Ministry of Justice Notice No. 2023-187) was repealed when this notice took effect. Hand packing and labeling, cargo loading and unloading, and fueling work can now be assigned to F-4 holders.

What changes in regional visa areas?

Under the exception in the notice, an F-4 holder who has a place of residence in a city, county or district designated by the Minister of Justice for the regional visa program among depopulation areas, or who works within the metropolitan city or province where that residence is located, is not restricted from working in the occupations in Attachments 1 and 2. Work against good morals, such as at gambling premises or as an entertainment hostess, remains restricted even in these areas. Because the Minister of Justice designates the target areas, if you plan to hire under this exception, confirm with the local immigration office that the applicant’s residence is in a target city, county or district and that your workplace is within the metropolitan city or province where that residence is located.

How do you tell whether the work is a restricted occupation?

Article 27-2(1) of the Enforcement Rule defines simple labor as work requiring simple, routine physical labor that falls within the employment fields of simple labor workers under the Korean Standard Classification of Occupations (Statistics Korea notice). The notice also says detailed duties should be checked against the index terms of the Korean Standard Classification of Occupations on the statistics classification portal. Check the duties you will actually assign against the detailed descriptions in the attachments, not just the job title in your posting.

• Check whether the main duties in the employment contract and job description match the descriptions in Attachments 1 and 2.
• Even for an allowed occupation, mainly assigning duties of a restricted occupation as well may fall under the restriction, so describe the scope of work specifically in the contract.
• Use the applicant’s residence card or domestic residence report card to confirm that the status is F-4 and check the period of stay.

This article was checked as of November 1, 2026 against Ministry of Justice Notice No. 2026-65 and the Immigration Act and its subordinate rules as registered in the National Law Information Center.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a parking lot attendant and a parking guide?

Parking guides were removed from the restricted list by the 2026 notice, so you can hire F-4 holders for that work. Parking lot attendants, described in Attachment 1 as operating and managing free or paid parking facilities, remain a restricted occupation.

Can I hire an F-4 holder for restaurant delivery or delivery agency work?

As a rule, no. Restaurant delivery workers and express delivery workers (quick service and delivery agency riders) are simple labor occupations in Attachment 1. Only the regional visa area exception changes this.

Did any occupation names change from the previous notice?

Yes. Following the 8th revision of the Korean Standard Classification of Occupations, other parcel couriers became express delivery workers, food delivery workers became restaurant delivery workers, beverage delivery workers became regular food and beverage delivery workers, newspaper delivery workers became regular newspaper delivery workers, and street sweepers became street and public place cleaners. Building security guards were merged into other building caretakers.

What if an F-4 holder is already working in a restricted occupation?

The notice has no transitional provision that separately protects people already employed. If the assigned work falls under Attachment 1 or 2 and the regional exception does not apply, first look into changing the work to an allowed occupation.

How New World Job checks

New World Job (Hwang Yunsang Job Placement Agency) checks whether the work in a job order is a restricted occupation under the notice, confirms the status and period of stay shown on the applicant’s residence card or domestic residence report card, and then makes the referral. We do not refer F-4 holders to work that falls under a restricted occupation.

Hwang Yunsang Administrative Agent Office handles F-4 status change and extension of stay applications on your behalf under a separate contract. Whether you use the office does not affect the referral.