Why is it difficult to convince illegal workers in Korea to return home?

The reason is that these 3 localities have up to 70 people residing illegally, and the rate of workers whose contracts have expired and who do not return home on time is 27% or more. Finding a solution to bring these workers back home is really difficult, when most of the workers who have left want to stay long-term.

Regret having to return home earlier than planned

Worker Nguyen Van Hieu, Block 1, Hung Nguyen town (right), is worried about finding a job after his term of return to Vietnam expires. Photo: Thanh Nga

Mr. Nguyen Van Hieu, residing in Block 1, Hung Nguyen town, just returned home in January 2023 because his father passed away, his mother was sick, and his wife was a hospital nurse so she was too busy to take care of their children. Hieu said: He is a rare worker who returned home exactly 4 years and 10 months under the EPS contract and he regrets a lot when he returned home earlier than planned. "None of the workers who went with me returned home, because if they went for 4 years and 10 months, they would only have a little left, about 500 million at most, and that would not be enough to build a house." Hieu said with certainty that whoever returned home on time would be scolded by their parents and nagged by their wives, because they had not gone far, sometimes they would even mortgage their red book to borrow money for expenses, but the money earned after that arduous pilgrimage was only a few hundred million, which was a waste.

Then Hieu explained, it's not that we didn't want to comply, but it's true that there's no job back home, the money we earn there is hard work, and it would be a pity to spend it all when we get home.

The author of the article and Mr. Nguyen Van Thang in Nghi Hai ward, Cua Lo town, he returned home on time after a serious accident. Photo: PV

Like Hieu, Nguyen Van Thang, born in 1982 in Nghi Hai, Cua Lo town, also returned home on time without earning much. The reason he had to return home on time was because he had a serious accident while transporting a block of steel concrete from a high place. "The accident happened when my contract only had 2 months left, and I was eligible to convert my visa to G1 (a preferential visa regime for people who have an accident and are sick and have to be hospitalized), and when the term expires, I have to return home immediately to be paid the insurance money," Thang sadly said that after the accident, he was mentally devastated, and with his injuries, no one would accept him even if he stayed.

These are rare cases of returning home on time, with 2 out of 3 localities with illegal workers having their recruitment to work in Korea suspended. However, the reason they are forced to return home is because they do not want to return home when their term expires. "Once their term expires, many of us run away because we cannot find a job that is only 1/4 of the salary we earn here. Going out once is a difficult time. Returning home on time means losing our chance," said Nguyen Van Hieu in Hung Nguyen town.

Knowing it's wrong but still doing it

Tran Manh Phuc has been working in Korea since 2011 and will return home in January 2023. Photo: Thanh Nga

Tran Manh Phuc is one of the few cases that cooperated when talking about escaping and residing illegally for a long time in the land of kimchi. Phuc said that, at his workplace, almost everyone was an illegal resident, only those who were caught had to go home.

Overstaying is considered to be an escape from the Korean authorities, but Phuc finds his place of residence quite comfortable. If he does not violate traffic safety or fight, causing the Koreans to report him to the authorities, he will never be arrested. Moreover, Korean companies are very preferential in recruiting skilled workers after the contract.

However, the risks of illegal residence are also numerous. That means if a worker overstays his visa and still works at a company and unfortunately gets into an accident, he will lose a huge amount of money. For example, Phuc had an accident while using a saw, which almost severed his little finger. With this injury, the illegal resident must bear all the hospital expenses. And Phuc may have to pay up to 300 million VND, not to mention the cost of food and accommodation during the days of treatment. "But luckily for me, my boss is very responsible and affectionate, so he paid most of the hospital fees, I only have to pay a small part," Phuc said. So after 13 years living in Korea, Phuc waited for the amnesty period, which only happens twice a year, to register to return home because his grown child needed his father to take care of and guide him.

Another case in Hung Nguyen town who is residing illegally is Mr. Cao Van Khanh. Mr. Khanh went for the second time under the EPS program and is currently residing as a general laborer in the construction industry. Because the job is quite hard but the salary is high, although his wife, children and parents really want him to return, Khanh still extended his stay for a few more years, hoping to earn more capital and then return permanently.

According to Mr. Nguyen Van Long - the town's policy officer, in recent years, district and town officials have organized many campaigns to mobilize workers who are still residing illegally in Korea but have not been successful. The cases of returning home are all people with unexpected problems. "Up to now, the town has 30 people working in Korea, of which 10 are residing illegally. This rate is still quite low compared to other localities, but most workers who go to Korea find ways to stay, so the number 10 is not certain to stop," said Mr. Long.

Policy officers of Cua Lo town visit families with workers working in Korea. Photo: Thanh Nga

Similarly, Nghi Hai Ward - Cua Lo Town currently has up to 700 workers working in Korea, most of whom are residing illegally. For Nghi Hai, the annual remittance of more than 25 billion VND is a significant source of income. "Although we always want workers to return home on time to create conditions for others to go, avoiding inequality in creating job opportunities, it seems very difficult, because no matter how much propaganda is given, workers still refuse to return," said Mr. Nguyen Manh Cuong - policy officer of Nghi Hai Ward - Cua Lo Town.

Find a solution

Korean workers who are residing illegally in Korea and voluntarily return home will have the opportunity to enter the country a second time under the EPS contract. Photo: Document

Up to now, in Nghe An province there are up to 10,000 workers working abroad..On average, every year, 500 - 700 workers in the province are selected and accepted to work by Korean enterprises, with attractive salaries of 1,000 - 1,500 USD/person. However, since 2011, there have been many cases of workers fleeing after their EPS contracts expired. In 2017, 11 districts, cities and towns in Nghe An suspended the recruitment of workers under the EPS program, but by 2022 and 2023, there will be only 3 districts and towns.

The reason why workers do not return home on time is because: Korean enterprises want to avoid and reduce the costs of recruiting new workers and want to reuse Vietnamese workers who have already mastered the work they did before, so they create conditions for workers to stay and work illegally. Moreover, the management of foreign workers working from Korea is not strict; sanctions are not strict, so Vietnamese workers can easily take advantage of loopholes to avoid.

In recent times, the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs has coordinated with the district level to organize many activities and forms of mobilizing workers to return home according to regulations. Localities directly work with families with workers, and at the same time do not confirm the records and necessary procedures and papers of workers who register to work in Korea when these workers have siblings residing illegally in this country...

Workers register at job exchanges. Photo: Duc Anh

However, it seems that these solutions are not very effective, because in reality, the benefits of staying are much greater than the risks that the workers and their families may have to bear. As Mr. Nguyen Van Hieu, a citizen who returned home on time, said, he had hoped that when he returned home, he would be accepted into companies in VSIP Industrial Park, but here they only recruited him as a normal unskilled worker with an income of 4-5 million VND. "That is too unfair for skilled workers like us. Therefore, creating jobs commensurate with workers trained in Korea is a solution for workers to return home on time. Typically, in Bac Giang, right after returning home, workers were accepted by businesses in industrial parks as skilled and experienced workers," Mr. Hieu added.

Mr. Tran Phi Hung - Head of the Department of Labor Safety and Employment, Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs said: "To ensure employment for returning workers, we need to continue to promote investment attraction, call on and mobilize businesses, especially FDI enterprises and Korean enterprises in Vietnam to create favorable conditions for receiving workers working in Korea to return to work in Vietnam", and Mr. Hung stated that on-site employment is the key factor to attract workers back to the country./.