Incheon administrative agent, Songdo administrative agent: this is the Hwang Yunsang Administrative Agent Office. Today we checked against the original press releases three items: the status-of-stay changes that workplaces employing compatriots need to watch, the overdue-receivables rule for financial institutions that took effect yesterday, and the advance notice of legislation on senior welfare housing.
Today’s key 3 lines
- On the F-4 (Overseas Korean) consolidation date (February 12), there were 81,447 Working Visit (H-2) compatriots; as of July the number fell to 31,186. Those who remain can change to F-4 within their period of stay.
- From Monday, October 12, for a financial company to obtain bad-debt recognition on an individual unsecured overdue receivable, it must attach the condition that the statute of limitations will be completed on the scheduled completion date (banks and insurers: 50 million won or less; savings banks, specialized credit finance companies, etc.: 30 million won or less).
- Comments are being collected until Monday, November 23 on the proposed amendment to the Enforcement Rule that would allow residents of senior welfare housing to keep living there, even if their health worsens, as long as they can live independently with services such as long-term care benefits.
1. H-2 Working Visit Compatriots Changing to F-4: The Remaining 31,000 and How to Apply
- What is changing: When the compatriot status of stay was consolidated into Overseas Korean (F-4) on February 12, 2026, new issuance of Working Visit (H-2) visas was suspended. According to the Ministry of Justice’s August 11 release, the current situation is as follows.
- H-2 compatriots: 81,447 on the consolidation date → 31,186 in July 2026 (5.1% of all compatriots)
- From February 12 to July 31, applications to change status from H-2 to F-4: 48,905 applications, 44,340 approved
- The status of existing H-2 holders does not change automatically. They may stay in H-2 status up to their maximum period of stay, and may apply for permission to change to F-4 during that period.
- Who is affected: Compatriots still staying in H-2 status, and the manufacturing, construction and service workplaces and staffing agencies that employ compatriot workers.
- Effective from: The consolidation took effect on Thursday, February 12, 2026. Change applications must be filed before each person’s period of stay expires.
- Administrative agent’s note: The change is made by applying for permission to change the status of stay at the competent immigration office before the period of stay ends. If documents are prepared when the expiry date is imminent, there is not enough time to respond to requests for supplementation, so it is safer for workplaces to keep a table of each employee’s status of stay and expiry date based on the alien registration card or domestic residence report card. Even after the change to F-4, some work such as simple labor remains restricted, so also check whether the work to be assigned is within the permitted scope (details on restricted occupations: ⚠️ original text needs to be checked).
- Source: Ministry of Justice · 54% of Working Visit compatriots switch to ‘Overseas Korean status’ (press release, Aug. 11, 2026)
2. Conditional Bad-Debt Recognition for Financial Institutions Takes Effect October 12: Statute of Limitations on Overdue Personal Receivables to Be Completed in Principle
- What is changing: Until now, even after treating hard-to-collect overdue receivables as losses (bad-debt recognition), financial companies could keep pursuing collection by repeatedly extending the statute of limitations through payment orders and the like. Following the revision of the Financial Supervisory Service’s Detailed Rules on Bad-Debt Recognition of Financial Institution Receivables, the system will operate as follows.
- Individual unsecured overdue receivables receive bad-debt recognition only on the condition that the statute of limitations is completed (or the receivable is waived) on the scheduled completion date stated in the application.
- It applies to overdue receivables of 50 million won or less for banks and insurers, and 30 million won or less for savings banks, specialized credit finance companies, etc.
- Extensions of the limitation period are permitted as exceptions in cases such as discovery of concealed assets, interruption of the limitation period by bankruptcy or rehabilitation proceedings, and debt adjustment being performed through the Credit Counseling and Recovery Service or a financial company.
- When a receivable is sold, the contract must also state the scheduled completion date and the obligation to complete the limitation period, so that the buyer takes over the obligation.
- Who is affected: Financial companies, and individual debtors with overdue debts who have been subject to collection for a long time.
- Effective from: Takes effect on Monday, October 12, 2026. It applies from financial companies’ bad-debt write-off applications for the fourth quarter of 2026.
- Administrative agent’s note: If you have an old overdue debt, first check the creditor named in the collection notice (whether it is the original financial company or a company that bought the receivable) and the date the delinquency began. On the same day, the best-practice standard for managing the statute of limitations by sector was also revised, and for receivables whose limitation period was extended, a re-review system now re-evaluates repayment ability after three years.
- Source: Financial Services Commission and Financial Supervisory Service · Improving the practice of extending limitation periods in the financial sector: conditional bad-debt recognition system takes effect (press release, Oct. 12, 2026)
3. Senior Welfare Housing: Keep Living There Even if Health Worsens; Enforcement Rule Amendment Open for Comment Until November 23
- What is changing: The Ministry of Health and Welfare has given advance notice of legislation on a draft partial amendment to the Enforcement Rule of the Welfare of Senior Citizens Act.
- Currently, eligibility for senior welfare housing is set as ‘persons aged 60 or older living independently, including cooking on their own’. Under the change, even if health worsens during residence, a resident can continue living there if able to live independently with services designated by the Minister of Health and Welfare, such as long-term care benefits.
- Residents can form a residents’ council with the consent of a majority of residents to voice opinions on operations, and if the installer or operator cannot perform their role because of death, dissolution of the corporation or the like, the residents’ council will stand in for that role on a limited basis.
- Compliance requirements for installers and operators are newly established, and the installer must report when selecting or changing a commissioned operator.
- It also includes a new legal basis for short-term housing support (halfway house) services for seniors discharged from hospital and for senior-living-alone comprehensive support centers, and relaxed qualifications for center directors.
- Who is affected: Residents of senior welfare housing and their families, and installers and operators of senior welfare housing and corporations commissioned to operate them.
- Effective from: Advance notice of legislation runs from Tuesday, October 13 to Monday, November 23, 2026. The effective date is undecided (stage: advance notice of legislation).
- Administrative agent’s note: On the operator side, a reporting procedure is newly introduced when changing a commission contract, so it is advisable to organize the current commission contract period and any planned changes in advance. Residents with opinions can submit them within the deadline to the Senior Policy Division of the Ministry of Health and Welfare or to the National Participation Legislation Center.
- Source: Republic of Korea Policy Briefing · “Keep living there even if health worsens”: easing residency requirements for senior welfare housing (Oct. 13, 2026)
Deadlines to Watch This Week
- Monday, October 26: Comment deadline for the advance notice of legislation on the Enforcement Decree of the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act (registration requirements for currency exchange businesses) (October 8 briefing)
- Thursday, October 29: Comment deadline for the advance notice of legislation on the Enforcement Decree of the Road Traffic Act (facilities operating children’s commuting buses) (October 8 briefing)
- Friday, November 13: Minimum guaranteed advance payment for victims of jeonse fraud takes effect (October 7 briefing)
- Monday, November 23: Comment deadline for the proposed amendment to the Enforcement Rule of the Welfare of Senior Citizens Act
This briefing is a guide compiled by the Hwang Yunsang Administrative Agent Office based on public materials. Whether it applies to an individual case must be confirmed with the competent authority.