South Korea has asked Washington for a dedicated US visa quota for shipbuilding workers as a condition of carrying out its $150 billion shipbuilding investment commitment under MASGA, or “Make American Shipbuilding Great Again.” The proposal is under discussion, not an enacted visa program.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy outlined the request in materials submitted to Rep. Huh Sung-moo, a ruling Democratic Party of Korea member of the National Assembly’s Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs and Startups Committee. Huh disclosed the ministry’s response Monday.
The ministry said it had asked Washington for enough shipbuilding orders, permission for joint shipbuilding through exemptions to overseas-construction restrictions, financial incentives and a worker visa route. It said on the 18th that officials were discussing investment conditions in working-level talks with the United States.
The foreign ministry is leading a separate effort to improve entry and stay arrangements for Korean corporate personnel, including shipbuilding workers, the industry ministry said. Seoul has not specified how many workers it wants admitted.
The proposed channel targets tradespeople, not only professionals
The government’s proposed E-4 professional visa is a different track. It would allow up to 15,000 Korean professionals annually, but Congress has not enacted the proposal.
A ministry official said the professional visa “is different in nature from the technical and skilled workers needed on shipbuilding sites.” The official added, “the priority is to create a visa channel through which shipbuilding workers can enter.”
Shipyards need more than designers and research-and-development staff. They also need skilled workers in welding, piping and electrical work who can pass their expertise to U.S. employees on the shop floor.
The Partner with Korea Act, introduced by U.S. Rep. Young Kim, would establish a visa category with an annual cap of up to 15,000 Korean professionals. The bill remains pending in Congress. The industry ministry has not specifically asked that shipyard workers be placed inside or outside that proposal, and says the two groups have different skills. The E-4 cap could also be shared across professions rather than reserved for shipbuilding.
Seoul has not set a worker count or chosen a visa structure
The ministry said staffing needs would depend on each project’s timing and progress. For now, it considers a route for workers to enter the United States more important than naming a quota figure. Officials expect to discuss the number through a Korea-U.S. visa working group and other channels.
That leaves the central design questions open: how large a channel would be, what visa category would carry it and whether it would stand apart from the professional-visa proposal. The ministry has said the skilled technical workers required at shipyards differ from professionals covered by the existing proposal.
Shipbuilding represents $150 billion of Korea’s broader $350 billion U.S. investment commitment, the largest single segment. The ministry’s other conditions include orders for U.S. shipbuilding work, exemptions permitting joint construction and financial incentives.
U.S. yards face long training times and a widening labor need
The U.S. Government Accountability Office said all seven major shipbuilders building Navy vessels have struggled to hire and retain skilled workers. A shipyard trade worker takes three to five years to become fully skilled, according to the GAO.
The U.S. Department of Defense estimates that the industry will need 174,000 new workers over the next decade, including replacements for people who retire or leave. McKinsey put the maritime industry’s additional workforce need at 200,000 to 250,000 over the next 10 years.
About 27% of U.S. maritime workers are 55 or older, McKinsey estimated. The industry also competes with construction, energy and other sectors for workers. The Korean government’s case for a separate channel rests partly on the time needed to train local hires from scratch.
Orders, legal changes and research projects are also on the table
Seoul wants changes to the Byrnes-Tollefson Amendment, which restricts overseas construction of U.S. Navy vessels, and the Jones Act, which governs cargo transportation between U.S. ports. The ministry has also sought sufficient shipbuilding orders and financial incentives as conditions for the investment commitment.
The two countries plan to put a combined 155.7 billion won into eight joint research projects over the next five years. The package includes 120 billion won in public funding and 35.7 billion won in private investment. Projects include AI-based pipe fabrication and automated painting.
Shipbuilders are already testing training and automation partnerships
Samsung Heavy Industries is working with U.S.-based Vigor Marine Group on a training center in the U.S. Northwest. The center is intended to develop local technical workers, using virtual-reality and augmented-reality programs for welding and painting training.
Hanwha Ocean is bringing welding-robot technology from its Geoje shipyard to Philly Shipyard in the United States. Hanwha Group says artificial intelligence handles 67% of indoor welding work at Geoje.
Heo said the government “should actively work out effective support measures so that our shipbuilding workers can move into these sites smoothly.” The size and structure of the proposed visa channel remain for working-level discussions with Washington.
