Central Vietnam provinces lead number of candidates signing up for South Korean jobs

By Hong Chieu March 5, 2024 | 08:00 pm PT

People in Nghe An Province in central Vietnam line up to apply for a Korean language proficiency test at the provincial job service center in January 2024. Photo by VnExpress/Hung Le

Nearly 4,900 people in Thanh Hoa, Nghe An and Ha Tinh provinces signed up to work in South Korea under an official labor program, accounting for over half of candidates in the first recruitment wave this year.

A Korean language proficiency exam for candidates looking to go to South Korea for work in the Employment Permit System (EPS) will last from March 5 to 26 in Hanoi and Da Nang, according to the Center of Overseas Labor under the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs.

Over 8,650 candidates from 53 cities and provinces have signed up for the test, aiming for jobs in sectors like agriculture, fishery and construction.

Among them, the localities with the highest number of people signing up is Thanh Hoa at 1,941 candidates, followed by Nghe An at 1,523 candidates, Ha Tinh at 1,416 candidates and Quang Binh at 942 candidates.

Those passing the Korean language proficiency test will have their working skills put to the test in another examination from April to July. 15,400 people are expected to be recruited to work abroad, and the number of people signing up so far has only met 56% of the recruitment quota.

The overseas labor center said it would take photos and collect fingerprints from candidates for the test. The exam itself would be handled by the Human Resources Development Service of Korea. The multiple-choice test would be graded automatically by a computer.

Among the potential candidates, eight people were removed from the pool due to having violated examination regulations in previous times. Those who commit exam violations will have their test results voided and be banned from taking the test for the next four years.

There is no guarantee for candidates to secure a job even after having passed both rounds of examination, and the exact time for them to go to South Korea will not be immediately confirmed. Authorities recommend candidates to continue working at their usual jobs after sending in their applications.

The EPS, launched in 2004, has brought 127,000 people from Vietnam to South Korea for work so far. By October 2023, over 36,000 EPS workers, including 10,000 who illegally stayed, had been living in South Korea.

Vietnam sent around 155,000 people to work abroad last year, an 8.5% increase from 2022. Around 650,000 Vietnamese workers are currently working in 40 countries and territories.

Japan hosted the highest number of Vietnamese workers (80,000), followed by Taiwan (58,600) and South Korea (11,600), according to the labor ministry.