Minister for Labor, Employment and Social Security and high-ranking officials of the ministry with South Korean ambassador Park Tae-Young.
KATHMANDU: South Korean officials have indicated that they could stop recruiting Nepalis under the Employment Promotion Scheme (EPS) if activities against the EPS continued unabated.
An official at the Foreign Employment Division under the Ministry of Labor, Employment, and Social Security said the Korean officials said in their recent meeting with officials of the Ministry of Labor, Employment, and Social Security that they could stop hiring Nepalis under EPS from Nepal if activities against the EPS persist any further. Nepal officials tried to assure Korean officials stating that no such scenario would unfold.
Two youths died when the protest of Korean aspirants took a tragic turn in Balkumari of Lalitpur on Friday. The incident occurred when youths, who failed the shipbuilding examination under the EPS, took to the street, demanding that they should be eligible to apply for other sectors. Following the incident, the Patan High Court instructed the EPS Division to allow youths, who failed the shipbuilding examination, to apply for other sectors. Subsequently, the EPS Division has published a notice asking youths, numbering 32,000, to fill out applications for other sectors.
The government has already notified the concerned South Korean agency about its decision. However, the Korean agency has not responded yet. The silence of the Korean agency, which typically addresses issues raised by Nepal promptly, is concerning, say high-ranking officials of the ministry.
An official from the EPS Division told Himal Press that they have not received any response from the Human Resources Development Service of Korea. “We cannot provide any updates as the Korean agency has not responded to our letters sent last Friday,” the official said. “We asked the youths to fill up the application form to comply with the high court’s order.”
Government officials suspect that the Korean government is dissatisfied with the protests and the subsequent court order in Nepal.
Labor Secretary Kebal Prasad Bhandari told Himal Press that the ministry briefed Korean Ambassador Park Tae-Young about the court’s order and the reopening of applications for youths who failed the shipbuilding examination. “The Korean ambassador was concerned about why problems arose in Nepal when the examination, which was held subsequently in various countries, went smoothly,” he added. “We have proposed the Korean side to move ahead by honoring the court order and find a solution to the problems seen in EPS through a joint meeting of technical teams of the two countries.”
Bhandari said that the Korean ambassador has taken Nepal’s proposals positively and assured that he would raise the matter with the concerned ministry of his country.
Secretary Bhandari claimed that South Korea won’t remove Nepal as a source country for workers.
South Korea initiated the recruitment of Nepalis under EPS in 2008. Over 95,000 youths have left for South Korea under the EPS so far. Currently, around 50,000 Nepalis are working in South Korea.
