The Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have reached an agreement with South Korea to put forth financial sanctions to bind and encourage Vietnamese laborers to work in South Korea for the time frame of their contract.
On August 29, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan announced the cooperation between Vietnam and Korea, allowing Vietnamese workers to seek employment in South Korea.
The Deputy PM had assigned the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to negotiate with South Korea on provisions of the conditions and procedures that would help Vietnamese laborers to return to Korea for work and also be able to extend working time if necessary.
The new procedures will now strictly deal with Korean employers who retain Vietnamese laborers even after their contracts have expired.
Mr. Nhan ordered relevant ministries to improve the quality of teaching of the Korean language for employees going for work to Korea, and teach them to respect Korean law before taking up employment in Korea.
“Relevant ministries must continue to improve conditions, quality of recruiting workers to go to Korea, and apply mechanisms, specific measures against provinces having a high proportion of laborers who work and violate Korean law”, he stated.
“Besides, relevant organs should upgrade the website under the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs on the management of laborers so that employees and their families will understand the situation, get the latest information on laws relating to Vietnamese guest workers who go to work in Korea,” Vice PM Nhan concluded.
Previously, a forum themed ‘For the future of Vietnam and the Republic of Korea,’ was held in Hanoi on August 28 to mark the 20th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries.
The forum was organized by the Korean International Exchange Fund and Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences.
The focus of discussion was on diplomatic ties and trade and investment cooperation between the two countries, as well as cultural exchanges, which are beneficial for the people of both nations, which are home to around 100,000 citizens from both the countries.
Aside from this event, the 7th ASEAN-Republic of South Korea Cooperation Forum will be held on August 29-30 by the Asian Research Centre of the Seoul National University and Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences to discuss cooperation, immigration, labor, tourism and regional security.
In addition, Vietnam and the Republic of South Korea will discuss ways to start the first round of negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement in Seoul on September 3-4.
Earlier, the two sides had agreed to start negotiation rounds after finalizing a joint study on the feasibility of a Free Trade Agreement.
Export turnover for the Republic of South Korea from Vietnam reached US$13.55 billion, up by 40 percent against 2010. Korea imported US$5.08 billion in goods from Vietnam, up by 53 percent against the same period.
