Nineteen out of the 34 seasonal laborers that the authorities of Lam Dong Province, located in Vietnam's Central Highlands, sent to South Korea in April this year for work escaped from their workplaces, the provincial Department of Labor, War Invalids, and Social Affairs reported on Wednesday.

In particular, the department and the agricultural technique center of Jeongeup City in Jeonbuk Province, South Korea signed a cooperation agreement in October last year to send laborers in Lam Dong to the South Korean city for work.

On April 5 this year, the Lam Dong Department of Labor, War Invalids, and Social Affairs’ Employment Service Center held a ceremony to officially send the 34 laborers to the Northeast Asian country and closely cooperated with agencies in South Korea to provide immigration instructions.

The group was divided into 15 sub-groups that were dispatched to 15 farms. The farm owners provided them with accommodations and they started working from April 6.

The 34 laborers’ visas initially had a validity period of five months, between April 5 and September 5. 

South Korea later extended the validity of seasonal worker visas of 14 out of the 34 Vietnamese laborers to eight months.

One worker has returned to Vietnam, while the remaining 19 people have run away and not contacted competent agencies in either South Korea or Vietnam.

Lam Dong is coordinating with the designated agencies in the province to ask the families of these 19 laborers to persuade their relatives to return to their workplaces or contact the provincial authorities for support.

The provincial Department of Labor, War Invalids, and Social Affairs has ceased the selection of laborers for working in South Korea in districts with a high number of laborers escaping from their workplaces.

The department has also written to the Jeongeup City administration seeking support in resolving issues during the implementation of their cooperation agreement to manage laborers, protect their legitimate rights, and expel those illegally escaping from workplaces.

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