Temporarily remove the regulation to stop recruiting workers to Korea in 8 localities

Workers residing in 8 districts and cities of Hai Duong , Thanh Hoa, Nghe An and Ha Tinh provinces can register to take the Korean language test at the end of January under the EPS Program.

The eight districts and cities include Chi Linh City (Hai Duong), Dong Son and Hoang Hoa districts (Thanh Hoa), Cam Xuyen and Nghi Xuan ( Ha Tinh ) and Nghi Loc and Hung Nguyen districts, Cua Lo Town (Nghe An), according to information from the Overseas Labor Center.

In the early 2023 exam, workers in the above localities were temporarily suspended from recruitment because there were more than 70 illegal residents in Korea, and more than 27% of workers whose contracts had expired did not return home. However, Vietnam and Korea agreed not to apply this policy to this year's exam because the localities had reduced the rate of illegal residence below the committed level.

The registration period is from January 26-30 and the Korean proficiency test is from March 5-June 14, applicable to workers nationwide. However, the parties will carefully review and exclude candidates whose relatives are parents, spouses, children or siblings residing illegally in Korea.

Inside the Korean proficiency test procedure room, May 2023. Photo: Ngoc Thanh

The exam is expected to select more than 15,400 successful workers to work in many industries, specifically manufacturing more than 11,200, construction 200, agriculture nearly 900 and fisheries about 3,000 people. The agriculture and fisheries sector alone will recruit workers from ethnic minorities, residing in one of the 74 poor districts, 54 particularly disadvantaged communes in coastal and island areas in the period 2021-2025.

The EPS program is unique in that Korean business owners will select workers based on randomly introduced profiles without designation, and no one can influence the contract signing process. Therefore, workers who pass two rounds of exams and submit their applications are not sure to be selected to go to Korea, and do not know the departure time in advance. The center recommends that candidates who submit their applications should still maintain their normal work, and should not stay at home waiting in stress, wasting time.

Workers are also wary of recruitment information in the service sector, because Korea currently has a plan to accept workers to lift and unload goods, but Vietnam has not yet sent them. The Overseas Labor Center is also the only place that coordinates with the Human Resources Development Service of Korea (HRD Korea) to select and send people to work under the EPS program.

Statistics show that in the first 9 months of 2023, the rate of Vietnamese workers residing illegally in Korea increased again to 34.5% while the commitment to this country was 28%. Hai Duong, Lang Son, Nam Dinh, Vinh Phuc are localities recording a fluctuating rate of 33-37%.

Illegal workers residing in Korea and not returning home after their contracts expired caused their compatriots to lose the opportunity to leave the country. Many local districts and towns were put on the list of temporarily suspended emigration.

Both sides have proposed many anti-escape measures, such as the Vietnamese side requiring workers to deposit 100 million VND; stop working abroad for 2-5 years; and limit Korean language proficiency tests. The Korean side stipulates that business owners who employ illegal foreign workers will be restricted from recruiting for 3 years; workers who violate the regulations can be imprisoned or fined 30 million won. Korea is also reviewing the recruitment quota for the following year for countries with many workers who have escaped to work abroad.

Hong Chieu

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