The re-entry system for committed workers, implemented since July 2nd, has turned out to be highly popular among firms and foreign workers.

◈ Re-entry system for committed workers Under the re-entry system, foreign workers who, despite a tough working environment, have worked earnestly in manufacturing businesses with 30 employees or fewer (businesses with 50 employees or fewer in case of root industries) or in the agriculture & livestock, or fishery sector without changing workplaces are allowed to re-enter and work again in Korea after three months have passed since their departure, if they want to be re-employed in Korea. According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL), of 703 foreign workers eligible for re-entry under the system, whose employment period expired in July, 536 or 76% have obtained re-entry and employment permission and are leaving Korea.

It was also found that of those supposed to go back to their countries in August, 717 or 50% had obtained re-entry and employment permission already in July, promising to re-enter Korea.

The fairly positive response seen during the first month of its implementation seem to be mainly because under the system, foreign workers do not need to sit a Korean language proficiency test, are exempted from pre-departure and post-arrival training, and have an opportunity to re-enter Korea after a lapse of three months and be employed for another 4 years and 10 months.

In addition, their employers do not have to make efforts to find Korean workers and can re-employ skilled workers in a short period of time. For these reasons, both foreign workers and their employers seem to greatly prefer the system.

Meanwhile, for foreign workers excluded from the re-entry system due to their change of workplace, etc., the Special EPS-TOPIK has been administered since December 2011. Many foreigners have applied for the test to re-enter Korea.

◈ Special EPS-TOPIK The Special EPS-TOPIK is conducted for foreign workers who voluntarily returned to their countries before the end of their employment period, regardless of type and size of workplace, change of workplace, etc. Any foreign worker who has passed the test can easily and quickly re-enter Korea six months after his/her departure and work in the same workplace he/she used to work before leaving Korea. * Only those who went back to their countries before the end of their 4-year and 10-month employment period are qualified to take the Special EPS-TOPIK. The test is conducted four times a year (once a quarter). * The test is now offered in Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia and Mongolia, and will expand to other sending countries. By July 31st, 3,625 foreign workers in eight countries had passed the test. As a result, they are allowed to re-enter and find employment again in Korea six months after their departure. Among them, 2,897 who had worked for one year or more in their most recent workplaces before they left Korea can make employment contracts preferentially with their previous employers (or can be placed in their previous jobs).

* By July 31st, employment permits had been issued for 694 out of the 2,879 foreign workers eligible to be placed in their previous jobs. As most of them have passed the test recently (this June), the number of employment permits issued for those eligible for placement in their previous jobs will continue to increase.

Foreign workers not eligible for placement in their previous jobs are recommended first to workplaces applying for foreign worker employment permits. Once employment contracts have been signed between companies and workers, the foreign workers will be brought into Korea.

Test applicantsThose having passed the testThose eligible for placement in their previous jobsThose for whom employment permit was issued 5,0773,6252,897694 Lee Tae-Hee, the Director-General of the Manpower Policy Bureau, said, "Since the two systems guarantee an easy and rapid re-entry process for foreign workers, and ease labor shortages by allowing employers to re-employ skilled foreign workers, foreign workers re-entering Korea using those systems will continue to grow in number, which in turn would greatly help prevent illegal stay of foreigners."

He also stressed, "If foreign workers want to be re-employed in Korea for another 4 years and 10 months through Special EPS-TOPIK or the re-entry system for committed workers, the most important thing is that they must return to their home countries before the end of their employment period."

*Government press release (August 22)