South Korea — the most lucrative destination for Nepali foreign job aspirants — has decided to select 8,200 more Nepali workers. According to the Employment Permit System (EPS) Centre in Nepal, under the Human Resource Department of South Korea, the next Test of Proficiency in Korean (TOPIK) will be held in October to select the aspirants.

The government will announce the next TOPIK soon, said director at the centre Lee Dong Sirk in a press meet today. “The Korean language test was delayed to give time to EPS job aspirants who were included in the 2011 roster,” he said, adding Nepali government had requested for the delay. We will soon have the next meeting and announce the next TOPIK, he added.

Earlier, South Korea had planned to publish the examination schedule on May 22, and conduct the exam in June/July and publish the result in August. The last TOPIK was held in 2011 and about 51,000 Nepalis had appeared for the test. Around 15,292 had passed the test and were included in the job roster. Among them, 8,500 have reached the destination. “About 2,804 workers joined South Korean jobs between January and May alone,” said Sirk.

Meanwhile, South Korea has shown grave concerns in the rising number of illegal Nepali workers in the destination. “The number of illegal Nepali workers in South Korea has increased at an alarming rate,” he said, adding that the number of illegal workers in February was around 2,182. It is 26.7 per cent of the total EPS workers in South Korea.

About 18,500 Nepalis are working in South Korea and 16,346 are EPS workers.

Nepali migrants working in South Korea have been earning about $1,000 (Rs 88,000) which is at least five times more than that offered in other popular destinations like Malaysia and Gulf countries.

However, due to the increasing number of illegal workers the recruitment process could be blocked soon. “If the number of illegal workers keeps increasing, South Korea could cut its quota or give low preference to Nepalis,” he warned. “Therefore, Nepal must start a plan to bring them back.” It is an urgent need to save the job market, he added.

Published on: 31 May 2013 | The Himalayan Times