The RoK is currently one of the traditional markets that receive a significant number of Vietnamese workers. It has become a preferred market for many Vietnamese workers who wish to go there for employment in recent years, thanks to cultural similarities between the two countries, along with its high incomes, reasonable exit fees, and relatively good working conditions.

Vietnam currently has approximately 66,300 workers employed in the RoK through four cooperation channels, namely the Employment Permit Program - EPS (E9 visa), skilled technical workers (E7 visa), crew members on fishing vessels (E10 visa), and seasonal workers (C4 and E8 visas).

Most workers go to the RoK to work under the Korean government’s EPS program and for technical labour cooperation under the E7 visa, with work durations extending beyond five years.

Workers under the EPS program are engaged in five different sectors, namely manufacturing, construction, agriculture, fisheries, and shipbuilding. They receive a good salary, approximately over KWR2 million (equivalent to about VND36 million), said Dang Huy Hong, director of the Department of Overseas Labour (DOLAB) under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids, and Social Affairs (MOLISA).

Recently, the Department of Overseas Labour and the Human Resources Development Service of Korea (HRD Korea) conducted the first round of the Korean language test for 2024, choosing 15,367 candidates to work in manufacturing, construction, agriculture, and fisheries under the ESP program.

According to Kim Yoon-hye, employment attaché at the RoK Embassy in Vietnam, the RoK’s demographic structure will change significantly in the future,, and the RoK government will likely need to accept more foreign workers, including those under the E9 visa, unskilled workers, as well as skilled workers, international students, and flexible transitions between these types of visas.

In the future, Vietnamese workers will therefore have even more opportunities to work in the RoK, said Kim.

VOV