The Official Website of the Philippine Embassy in Seoul, Korea

PARTIAL AMENDMENT ON KOREA’S ACT ON EMPLOYMENT OF FOREIGN WORKERS TAKES EFFECT

The Philippine Embassy wishes to share with the Filipino community in Korea the attached Notice from the Ministry of Employment and Labor on the Partial Amendment on Korea’s Act on Employment of Foreign Workers which was promulgated on 13 April 2021 and takes effect today, 14 October 2021.

Briefly, the amendment includes the following:

• The period of re-entry of Sincere or special re-entry workers is reduced from three (3) to one (1) month.
• A foreign worker may be allowed to become Sincere or special re-entry worker even if he/ she has changed his/ her workplace, provided that the foreign worker has worked for 4 years and 10 months in the same industry where he/she started to work, and that the current employment contract with the employer applying for re-entry permission is more than 1 year.

Special re-entry exception may also be granted on conditions decided by authorities.

• For employers who are hiring Sincere or special re-entry workers for the first time, they will be required to attend a mandatory Employment Permit System seminar on labor-related laws and human rights.

The Embassy has previously posted an Advisory on 23 September 2020 on the subject matter based on the pre-legislation announcement issued by the MOEL.

Please refer to the MOEL Notice dated 14 October 2021 for details and explanation. For related queries, please call POLO-OWWA at 02-3785-3634 (landline) or 010-6591-6290 (hotline).
-END-

The 1st PHILIPPINES-KOREA JOINT FISHERIES COMMITTEE (JFC) MEETING HELD

The 1^st Joint Fisheries Committee Meeting between the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the Republic of the Philippines (PH) was held online last October 01, 2021. Undersecretary for Agro-Industrialization and for Fisheries Cheryl Marie Natividad-Caballero and ROK Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF) Director General Dong-Sik Woo of the MOF’s International Cooperation Bureau co-chaired the meeting. The Philippine delegation was composed of officials from the Department of Agriculture (DA) Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), National Fisheries and Research Development Institute (NFDRI) and the Philippine Embassy in Seoul.

The co-chairs shared the common understanding that the Philippines-Korea JFC meeting is mutually beneficial for both countries and will serve as a platform to explore and identify potential areas of cooperation between the two countries.

The meeting discussed fisheries and aquaculture policies and best practices. The Philippines, through BFAR, shared updates on the Philippine Fisheries Industry highlighting new developments, policies and the challenges encountered by the country’s fisheries sector. The ROK side presented its 2^nd Master Plan of Fisheries and Fishing Community Development for 2021-2025, advancements in fisheries and aquatic bioresources management, and shared experiences to mitigate contamination of shellfish growing areas.

New Official Development Assistance (ODA) and technical cooperation projects aimed at strengthening international cooperation and the development of a platform and framework for Korean and Filipino experts’ engagement on various aspects of fisheries and the seafood trade industry.

The success of the 1st Joint Fisheries Committee Meeting highlights the importance of forging partnerships in the development of both countries’ fisheries industries and connectivity to the global food chain. Both parties are looking forward to the next JFC meeting in 2022.

Through the effort of the Philippine Agriculture Office in Seoul, the very first Philippines-Korea Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Fisheries Cooperation was signed by DA Secretary William D. Dar and MOF Minister Seong-hyuk Moon in November 2019 on the occasion of the ROK-ASEAN Commemorative Summit held in Busan.

END

PR MTD 11 2021

Classification and Guidelines for Green, Yellow, and Red list Countries for Incoming Travel to the Philippines

The Philippine Embassy in Seoul wishes to share with the public the latest updates from the IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease) with Resolution No. 141-B dated 30 September 2021, which lists the countries/jurisdictions/territories considered as “Green” relative to IATF Resolution NO. 158-A (s. 2021) and "Yellow” and “Red” relative to IATF Resolution No. 136 (s. 2021).

Click Classification and Guidelines for Green, Yellow, and Red list Countries for Incoming Travel to the Philippines for detailed information.