Kathmandu, April 18:

A total of 6,768 examinees have passed the Korean Language Test (KLT), a first step in the process of getting jobs in South Korea under employment permit system (EPS), according to the Human Resource Department of Korea’s (HRD-Korea) website www.eps.go.kr.

Of the total of 31,511 applicants for the KLT, only 31,175 had appeared in the exams held on March 29 and 30 in Kathmandu. The Tribhuvan University (TU) had conducted the exams for KLT in Kathmandu with the help of HRD-Korea and the department of labour and employment promotion (DoLEP).

However, all the answer sheets were taken to South Korea for the final markings by the HRD-Korea.

Those passed examinees will now have to go through a physical and health check-up at the government designated public health institutions, Keshar Bahadur Baniya, director general at DoLEP said.

“After satisfactory results in health check-up, DoLEP will further investigate on past criminal records and academic as well as vocational qualifications of the candidate. Then the names will be sent to HRD-Korea to create a roster,” he informed.

The roster will have details about the job seekers including a CV, police report and medical report, which will be circulated to the Korean employers.

The South Korean employers have rights to select workers from the roster-list and then they will recruit through HRD-Korea.

“There will be a tripartite contract between the government, employer and worker, then the visa processing will be started. Once visa is confirmed, the government will provide the selected workers with a preliminary trainings,” Baniya added.

The government has already announced that the total cost for the whole process will not exceed $970 (around Rs 63,050) including $17 for the KLT and air tickets.

Those selected for the jobs under the EPS will be paid no less than $900 as monthly salary excluding lodging, fooding and medical expenses.

About 5,500 job aspirants are likely to get jobs in South Korea from among those successful examinees of the KLT.

South Korea has emerged as the most preferred destination for Nepali jobseekers because of better earnings and cheaper initial cost to get job under EPS.

Nepal and South Korea had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in July last year. The accord has set proficiency of the Korean language as a major condition of eligibility for employment in South Korea.