South Korea reopens labor market for Vietnamese in 2017

The Korean government will reopen the labor market for Vietnamese workers residing in Korea from 2017, according to Yonhap News Agency on May 15.

In 2012, Seoul stopped granting Vietnamese nationals work permits in the country after a large number of Vietnamese workers continued to reside illegally in South Korea despite their work visas expiring.

South Korea reopened its labor market for Vietnamese in 2017. Illustration photo: TTO

According to Yonhap, South Korea operates a human resource permit system that allows companies to request government permission to hire foreign workers. Authorities have the right to approve or deny requests based on the validity of the request, as well as consider the protection of other relevant local labor markets.

According to Yonhap, a memorandum of understanding on resuming agreements on Vietnamese migrant workers will be reached at talks between the Korean Labor Minister and the Vietnamese Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs in Hanoi. The talks are scheduled to take place on May 17.

The deal comes as South Korean businesses call for the ban on Vietnamese workers to be lifted. Local businesses praise workers from Southeast Asian countries for their ability to adapt to local working conditions and acquire relevant skills quickly, making them valuable employees.

In addition, the Korean Ministry of Labor said the move towards lifting the ban came after Hanoi released a 2016-2018 roadmap to better manage Vietnamese people residing illegally abroad.

In addition to resident labor issues, the two countries' ministers will discuss more issues on labor information systems, labor laws, etc.

According to Yonhap, many Korean companies have established operations in Vietnam and have many Korean employees working at these companies. Vietnam has begun to tighten regulations on visas for skilled workers, making it difficult for young Koreans to be hired by these companies.

According to TTO/Yonhap News