A group of 988 Vietnamese guest workers who had been staying illegally in the Republic of Korea (RoK) voluntarily returned home during the first half of this year, according to a report by the Labour Management Office of the Vietnamese Embassy in the RoK and Korean authorities.

About 518 unauthorized Vietnamese workers were also expelled from RoK in the period.

Thus, by the end of June 2018, Vietnam had 38,331 people working in the RoK according to the Employment Permit System (EPS) program, 7,067 labourers in near shore fishing and 1,788 qualified workers with the existing work visa (E-7).

The RoK planned to receive 3,500 Vietnamese workers in the manufacturing sector, excluding agriculture and fisheries, this year.

To implement the Memorandum of Understanding on sending and receiving Vietnamese workers under the EPS program, the Department of Overseas Labor Management under the Vietnamese Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs has coordinated with relevant agencies to comprehensively implement a raft of measures to reduce the rate of illegal workers in the RoK such as calling on the workers to voluntarily return home on schedule, supporting these workers when they come home, strictly punishing violators and strengthening the management of workers in the RoK.

VOV