308 South Korean engineers fly to Vietnam for work

The engineers, flying from Seoul, are employees of Samsung Vietnam who have been allowed into the country under an agreement between the governments of both countries.

All Samsung engineers coming in Friday have been issued with an official certificate issued by competent authorities of the South Korean government and approved by the Vietnamese government stating they are Covid-19 negative.

On arrival, all of them were required to make health declarations in accordance with health ministry’s regulations. Then, the military command of Quang Ninh Province took all the engineers to facilities where their health will be supervised for 14 days before they can start working.

Earlier, the Vietnamese government had allowed Samsung Display’s engineers to skip mandatory centralized quarantine required for anyone arriving from South Korea, but ordered strict medical supervision and isolation from other workers for 14 days.

Samsung, the world’s biggest smartphone maker, is the largest foreign investor in Vietnam, employing around 160,000 people.

Samsung Electronics accounts for a quarter of Vietnam’s exports, and the Southeast Asian country is South Korea’s third-biggest export market, and the fifth-biggest source of South Korea’s imports.

Starting March 22, Vietnam suspended entry for all foreign nationals, including those of Vietnamese origin and family members with visa waivers.

Only Vietnamese nationals and foreigners carrying diplomatic and official passports such as business managers, experts and high-skilled workers have been allowed to enter the country since, and all entrants will be quarantined for 14 days.