PHNOM PENH: The Republic of Korea has pledged to increase the quota for Cambodian workers in the country to more than 10,000 this year, and the figure will further rise in the following years.

The pledge was made by H.E. Dr. Uh Soobong, Chairman of the Human Resource Development Service of Korea in a meeting here yesterday with H.E. Dr. Ith Samheng, Minister of Labour and Vocational Training.

The meeting touched on the way to recruit workers quickly and the project to integrate Cambodian workers after returning home.

H.E. Dr. Ith Samheng thanked the Korean side for the continued recruitment as well as for the care and protection of Cambodian workers despite the COVID-19 crisis. He noted that they made great progress upon their return to Cambodia, with some becoming entrepreneurs and well-known investors.

H.E. Uh Soobong informed H.E. Minister that Korea will organize a skills training program for foreign workers who have completed their term in Korea, and Cambodia may be a priority to receive benefits from the new project, which aims to provide loans to help those workers to be able to run a business with good income.

H.E. Dr. Ith Samheng welcomed the project, saying that Cambodian workers will receive specific skills training to be able to start their own businesses after they complete their work term in Korea.

The Employment Permit System between Cambodia and South Korea was initially signed on Nov. 20, 2006, under the presidency of Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen and H.E. Roh Moo-Hyun, former President of the Republic of Korea.

Cambodian workers mostly work in the industrial, agricultural, and construction sectors in the Republic of Korea. According to the evaluation from the Korean side, the Cambodian workers are honest, diligent, and hardworking.