Hanoi (VNA) -💃 The Centre of Overseas Labour at the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) has announced a plan to select around 12,000 Vietnamese people to work in the Republic of Korea (RoK) under the host country’s Employment Permit System (EPS).

The workers will be employed in the fields of manufacturing (6,344), construction (901), agriculture (841), and fisheries (4,035). Each candidate is allowed to submit only one registration form. The workers have to take a Korean language proficiency test and a skill test. The registration for the first test, scheduled for May 8-26, will last from March 20-24, while its results will be announced on June 5. The Korean language proficiency test will be taken on a computer and consist of two sections - listening comprehension and reading comprehension. The test has a total of 40 multiple-choice questions, and the time limit is 50 minutes. The minimum passing score for the first round is 110 for the manufacturing industry, 80 for the construction and agricultural industries, and 60 for the fisheries industry. The maximum score is 200. Those who meet the Korean proficiency requirements will take the skill test and be evaluated based on the number of positions available in each industry, with 110% of the recruitment target for each industry being allocated based on the criteria of highest to lowest scores. To prevent cheating during the test, the centre will closely monitor the workers' identification documents, including their test registration cards and personal identification papers. Suspected cases of cheating will be checked by comparing their identifying features and fingerprint records on their ID cards, and their registration information will also be verified. The centre will also use integrated data synthesis software and fingerprint scanners, which will capture photos and fingerprints of the workers. The fingerprint records will be stored in a database and used to verify the workers' identity at skill testing, orientation training, and departure. Those failing to pass the identity verification procedures will be denied of further processing, and those caught cheating disqualified from the programme, according to the centre. The software will also issue a warning when it detects the same person attempting to register for the exam for multiple times. Any worker found to have improper behaviour will be documented and stopped from participating in the programme for four years. Meanwhile, the registration for the second round will take place from June 5-9, and the second test will be held from June 26-30 for the manufacturing sector, and from July 17-21 for construction, agriculture, and fisheries. The centre will announce the time and venue of the tests on April 24 through municipal and provincial Departments of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, and via its website . Test results will be released at , , and . Vietnamese workers participating in this year’s EPS programme must meet requirements such as having a clean criminal record according to Vietnamese law and having never been deported from the RoK. For those who have resided in the RoK on work visas of non-professional employment (E9) or vessel crew (E10), the duration of residence must be less than five years. Workers who have previously worked in the RoK under the EPS programme must return to Vietnam upon the expiration of their contracts. Figures from MoLISA showed that Vietnam has to date sent over 110,000 workers to the RoK under the EPS programme, with an average income of 1,800 USD per month./. The MoLISA on March 10 announced that the EPS programme with the RoK will be suspended for eight districts, towns, and cities in four provinces due to Vietnamese workers’ overdue and illegal stay in the host country. They are Nghi Xuan and Cam Xuyen districts in the central province of Ha Tinh; Chi Linh city of the northern province of Hai Dương; Cua Lo town, and Nghi Loc and Hung Nguyen districts in the central province of Nghe An; and Dong Son and Hoang Hoa districts in the central province of Thanh Hoa. Each of these localities were reported to have more than 70 illegal workers residing in the RoK, and over 27% of the labourers who did not return to Vietnam upon the expiration of their contracts.