South Korean Minister of Employment and Labor Lee Jung Sik pledged to propose that his government allow more laborers from Vietnam to enter his country during a meeting with his Vietnamese counterpart Dao Ngoc Dung in Hanoi on Wednesday.

The meeting was held ahead of a state visit by South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol to Vietnam from Thursday to Saturday.

The two governments have plans to sign a memorandum of understanding on the dispatch of Vietnamese laborers to South Korea under the Employment Permit System (EPS) program.

At the meeting, Minister of Labor, War Invalids, and Social Affairs Dung informed that as of June this year, more than 5,400 Vietnamese laborers have traveled to South Korea for work with average monthly incomes of US$1,500-2,000.

Vietnam has made conditions favorable for South Korean groups investing in northern Bac Ninh and Thai Nguyen Provinces, Ho Chi Minh City, and Hanoi.

“This proves the care and support of the Vietnamese government,” Dung stressed.

The Vietnamese minister said that authorities of the two countries are negotiating bilateral social insurance policies for laborers.

He also suggested that the Northeast Asian country expand sectors in which Vietnam has strengths as the two countries have upgraded their bilateral relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership.

The EPS program currently supports only 30 percent of the need of Vietnamese laborers.

The Vietnamese Ministry of Labor, War Invalids, and Social Affairs has proposed that the government amend regulations to support foreign corporate managers and experts, including those from South Korea, Minister Dung said.

Minister Lee acknowledged Vietnamese Minister Dung’s suggestions, adding that he would report them to the South Korean government.

He also thanked Minister Dung for caring for South Korean laborers in Vietnam.

On the same day, Minister Lee also observed candidates taking a test under the EPS program in Hanoi.

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