South Korea considers increasing intake of Vietnamese workers

The meeting took place as part of Vietnamese Party General Secretary To Lam’s state visit to South Korea from Sunday to Wednesday.

Both ministers pledged to implement the existing memorandum on worker dispatch and acceptance more effectively in the next phase.

Minister Tra said that since 2004, approximately 143,000 Vietnamese have gone to work in South Korea under the EPS program, with 42,500 currently employed in manufacturing, agriculture, fisheries, construction, shipbuilding, and forestry.

Vietnam ranks first among 17 sending countries, although the proportion of illegal workers remains at 19 percent, higher than the target.

Minister Kim agreed to work with Vietnam to create a safe, healthy, and effective living and working environment, respect workers’ rights, and cooperate on matters involving repatriated workers.

Both ministers also discussed increasing the number of successful candidates in Korean language exams, expanding recruitment quotas in line with South Korea’s socio-economic needs, and broadening eligible job categories in core industries such as casting, plastic molding, machinery assembly, and industrial painting.

Plans include increasing the number of computer-based Korean language test centers, or simultaneously adopting the computer-based and ubiquitous-based testing methods.

They also discussed the possibility of enhancing cooperation among relevant agencies to better manage, support, and protect Vietnamese workers’ rights, as well as strengthening workplace safety inspections and providing Vietnamese-language advisory services for workers.

According to Vietnam’s Department of Overseas Labor, more than 7,300 Vietnamese went to work in South Korea in the first seven months of 2025, including over 680 women.