Islamabad, 13 February 2023 (TDI): The Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Pakistan, Suh Sangpyo, visited Overseas Employment Corporation (OEC) Pakistan head office to grace the award of Special Passport Scanners to OEC.
The purpose of the donation was to facilitate the jobseeker roster transmission for employment in Korea under the Employment Permit System (EPS) and speedy job seeker pool.
The ceremony witnessed the donation of 5 units of computer equipment (scanners) that can be used in various ways, such as passport scanning, to the sending country (OEC) free of charge.
The Ambassador also expressed opinions on pending issues of the EPS project between Pakistan and South Korea.
Also read: Aid from South Korea reaches Pakistan
Suh Sangpyo said that Pakistani workers are getting more jobs in Korea under the EPS, and expressed that he would cooperate to further expand the EPS project in the future. Notably, in 2022, about 2,000 Pakistani workers found employment in Korea through the EPS.
Pakistani workers in South Korea
Pakistan-South Korean relations are as old as South Korea. Pakistan provided South Korea with food and medicines during the Korean War in 1950. South Korea’s first five-year plan was based on Pakistan’s economic development plan.
Since then, Pakistan and South Korea’s diplomatic relations have grown in all fields. Trade and investment have been the main focus for the two countries.
In recent years, South Korea has been encouraging Pakistani workers’ employment in South Korea under its EPS on E9 visas.
By the end of November 2022, the number of Pakistani workers who have entered Korea through the EPS has exceeded 1,600.
The E9 EPS allows small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Korea that are unable to find a local workforce and allows them to legally employ non-professional or semi-skilled workers from abroad.
The Pakistan EPS Center is cooperating closely with Pakistan’s Overseas Employment Corporation (OEC) for smooth recruitment and prompt entry of Pakistani workers into Korea.
It is pertinent to note that as of present, the Pakistani community in South Korea stood at approximately 12,440 according to the Korean Immigration Service.
It comprises workers, businessmen, traders, students, and professionals. Most of the Pakistani expatriate population arrived in Korea in the late 1980s and 1990s.
