14-3-2024 (BANGKOK) Labour Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn successfully negotiated an agreement to dispatch 3,000 highly skilled Thai workers to South Korea during his recent visit to Seoul on Wednesday (March 13). The deal was struck during a meeting with representatives from five prominent South Korean shipbuilding companies, including HD Hyundai Heavy Industry, Hyundai Mipo Dockyard, Hyundai Samho, Samsung Heavy Industries, and Hanwha Ocean.
Phiphat revealed that the three Hyundai Group companies had joined forces to collaborate on this initiative, which aims to send Thai welders and mechanical technicians to South Korea. Thailand proposed the deployment of workers with expertise in shipbuilding, oceanographic engineering, and electronic communication engineering. These workers will possess fluency in English and a willingness to learn the Korean language.
Following the meeting held at Lotte Hotel Seoul, Phiphat expressed his satisfaction with the outcome, stating that it had provided reassurance to the South Korean counterparts regarding Thailand’s worker export procedures.
It is worth noting that the Royal Thai Police initiated a crackdown last year on human-trafficking websites that were deceiving Thai individuals, commonly known as “little ghosts,” into working in South Korea under false pretenses.
Phiphat highlighted that there are currently around 20,000 legally registered Thai workers in South Korea, attracted by wages that are at least five times higher than those in Thailand. The Ministry of Labour plans to further increase the number of Thai workers sent to South Korea by an additional 3,000 to 4,000 this year. Additionally, the ministry aims to send a total of 100,000 Thai workers overseas, responding to growing demand in countries such as Australia and Eastern European nations like Poland.
The minister emphasized that Thailand does not face any challenges in enhancing its workers’ technical skills. However, he urged recruitment agencies to focus on improving language proficiency, particularly in Korean, Japanese, and English.
Phiphat acknowledged that Thai workers may have limitations in terms of language but emphasized their talent, skills, and ability to follow instructions, which are highly regarded attributes.
The visit to South Korea aims to create new avenues for Thai workers to pursue employment opportunities abroad, as stated by Somchai Morakotsriwan, the director-general of the Employment Department. He confirmed that South Korea is expanding its skilled foreign workforce through its E7 visa scheme and allowing recruitment agencies to facilitate worker placements.
Somchai assured that his department would support Thai workers in their application for work permits in South Korea.
