Bangladesh Embassy in Seoul has formally requested South Korea to revise its Employment Permit System recruitment process after only 1 thousand 601 workers were hired this year against a quota of 10 thousand 300.

Embassy sent a note to South Korea's Ministry of Employment and Labour on November 26 highlighting the significant gap between allocated quotas and actual recruitment numbers. Only 2 thousand 779 Bangladeshi workers arrived in Korea last year despite a quota of 10 thousand.

Current system managed by HRD Korea uses random selection, sending three candidate profiles to employers who then choose one. Between 2008-2019, an average of two thousand Bangladeshi workers were employed annually in Korea. Post-pandemic numbers jumped to 5 thousand 891 in 2022 and 4 thousand 804 in 2023.

Low recruitment rates have triggered street protests in Bangladesh by workers listed on the roster. Embassy noted this situation has created ‘negative perception against the EPS recruitment system in Bangladesh’ and placed the government in an awkward position.

Bangladesh proposed three key changes to improve the system. First, recruiting workers according to serial numbers on the job roster instead of random selection. Second, automatic inclusion of workers deleted from the roster. Third, increasing the validity period of the roster, currently set at two years in two phases.

HRD Korea prepares rosters with up to three times more candidates than the approved quota. For 2023-2024 quotas of 10 thousand each, rosters included approximately 1.5 times the quota number.

Embassy expressed deep appreciation for existing manpower cooperation with South Korea while emphasizing the need for smooth continuation of collaboration.