Govt decides to send workers to South Korea
Kathmandu, April 26
The government has decided to send workers to South Korea under the Employment Permit System (EPS). A Cabinet meeting held today decided to send the workers on mutual consent of the two countries.
“Earlier, we had temporarily halted the process of sending labourers to South Korea,” said Krishna Prasad Khanal, director of EPS Korea Section, adding that after the government’s permission the section will send migrant workers to South Korea soon.
“We had already managed the flights and they will be rescheduled once the situation becomes normal,” he added.
According to Khanal, dozens of Nepali workers head to South Korea every week during normal times after passing their necessary examinations. “There are about 500 migrant workers who will fly to South Korea once the process is completed,” he said.
Moreover, the South Korean government had decided to extend the visas of Nepali workers who had gone there via the EPS by 50 days on April 13.
Nearly 18,500 migrant workers with E-9 visa have benefited from this decision. Prior to this too, the visa term of this category of workers had been extended by 50 days in February.
As of today, there has been no case of any Nepali being infected by the coronavirus in South Korea. More than 60,000 Nepali workers have gone to the destination since 2008 and around 40,000 migrant workers are still working there.
A version of this article appears in e-paper on April 27, 2020 of The Himalayan Times.
