Resuming entry of new Sri Lankan migrant employees to Korea -Statement from Korean Ambassador Santhush Woonjin JEONG-

Today, I have good news for Sri Lankan people who are waiting to work in Korea.

It gives me great pleasure to announce that the newly entering Sri Lankan migrant employees will be able to enter Korea and assume their new jobs very soon. Recently, the Government of the Republic of Korea decided to resume the entry of new Sri Lankan workers and workers from other foreign countries to Korea in the near future.

Because of the COVID-19 Pandemic, only the re-entering migrant workers had been able to enter Korea and the entry of new foreign workers to Korea had been restricted. However the vaccination rate is getting high enough to accommodate the foreign workers and the worldwide COVID-19 situation has become more stable. That is why the Korean Government decided to restart the entry of new foreign workers including Sri Lankans on condition of fulfilment of Korean government’s public health guideline. In the beginning, Korea will welcome a limited number of new foreign employees as the first batch and this number will gradually increase.

Resolving the migrant worker issue has been one of the top priorities to me as Korean Ambassador to Sri Lanka. The Korean Embassy and EPS Center in Sri Lanka have worked hard to resume the entry procedure. The Embassy has also maintained the close coordination with the Sri Lankan government to solve this issue.

The Korean government and the Korean Embassy highly value the significant role of Sri Lankan migrant workers and their precious contribution. The migrant workers bridge both countries in many ways, as they continue to contribute to the economic development of Korea and Sri Lanka. More than 20,000 Sri Lankan employees are presently in Korea and around 520 million US dollars were transmitted by them from Korea to Sri Lanka in 2019. I am glad to share this positive news with Sri Lanka. The Korean Embassy will continue to work closely with Sri Lankan government to strengthen our bilateral labour cooperation.

As my Sri Lankan name “Santhush” which means happiness, Korea would like to share happiness together with Sri Lanka and Sri Lankan people.

Let’s stay strong together! Korea and Sri Lanka Live Together!