Korean businesspeople on July 22 check in at Incheon International Airport's Terminal 1 before getting on chartered flights bound for Vietnam. (Yonhap News)

By Xu Aiying and Lee Jihae

Chartered flights for Korean businesspeople to Vietnam and China began on July 22.

The Korean government and major economic organizations jointly arranged the flights to alleviate hardship brought on by the persisting COVID-19 pandemic that has hampered domestic companies from advancing abroad.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, 571 staff from 241 businesses comprising 220 small and medium companies, 17 conglomerates and four public corporations were slated to depart Korea on July 22. By next month, 1,500 Korean employees will fly to the Vietnamese provinces of Quang Ninh and Vinh Phuc.

A combined 3,953 passengers are eligible for special entry to Vietnam via chartered flights -- 3,016 essential staff from 1,646 corporations that include the aforementioned 1,500 and 937 resident staff and their family members.

This will mark the largest special entry into a single country since the COVID-19 outbreak.

Earlier on April 29, Vietnam granted special entry to 340 essential Korean staff from small and medium companies.

On July 23, 159 staff from 57 Korean companies will enter the Chinese province of Guangdong on chartered flights. The trade ministry said that as regular flights between Korea and China grew limited, the scope of chartered flights was expanded from its focus on conglomerates to accommodate smaller and mid-market companies.

Special entry into Vietnam and China for business figures was finalized as branches of the Korean government such as the foreign and trade ministries, the Korean Embassy in Hanoi and the Korean Consulate General in Guangzhou and business organizations such as the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Korea International Trade Association closely cooperated to receive applications from corporations to support visa issuance and arrange chartered flights.

Each businessperson will undergo 14 days of quarantine upon arrival in either Vietnam or China before starting work.