More Cambodians work in Korea

via Khmer NZ

Wednesday, 01 September 2010 15:01 May Kunmakara

MIGRANTS travelling to work in South Korea have increased by almost 15 percent so far this year as its economy has grown, Cambodia’s Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training said yesterday.

Heng Sour, chief of the ministry’s overseas manpower unit, said that between January and August 17, the government sent about 897 workers to South Korea, up from 780 in the same period of 2009.

“Now, the Korean economy is improving, making them require more workers from abroad,” he said.

“We faced a lot of cancellations [of worker orders] last year; now everything is going very smoothly.”

Cambodian migrants, many of whom work in Korea’s agricultural and light industry sectors, can earn a fixed salary of between US$700 and $800 per month.

Cambodia started sending workers to South Korea in 2002.The countries signed a memorandum of understanding on the matter in 2007.Last year, Cambodian migrant workers to South Korea fell about 33 percent from 2008, ministry figures showed.

Heng Sour said he expected the 2010 total to be around 20 percent higher than last year’s.