HUMAN RESOURCES COOPERATION PLAN BETWEEN KOREA AND VIETNAM FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Authors: Lee Wooju , Nguyen Thi Phuong Dung 
Published: March 2024

Research purpose: Korea and Vietnam are actively engaged in human resource exchanges and are economically interdependent. Many Vietnamese people study or export labor in Korea, and many Korean companies and private businesses hire Vietnamese employees while doing business in Vietnam, and many Korean employees are working in Vietnam. It would be better if the two countries could make up for and cooperate with each other in using human resources to expand good jobs, boost industrial growth, innovation, and economic growth together. Therefore, by analyzing the current status of human resources and cooperation in both countries for sustainable development, we would like to find out how to cooperate in a way that is helpful to both countries. Research motivation: Diplomatic relations between Korea and Vietnam, the relationship between Korea and Vietnam has grown significantly, including the volume of trade between the two countries, Korea's investment in Vietnam, the number of Vietnamese labor exports to Korea, and the number of Koreans staying in Vietnam. In the wake of the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and Vietnam last year and the upgrade to a comprehensive strategic partnership, both countries should now pay attention not only to quantitative growth but also to qualitative growth for sustainable development of the two countries. Therefore, the basis for this is people, and the author selected "human resources cooperation plan between Korea and Vietnam for sustainable development" as the subject of the study. Research design, approach, and method: Find out the current status of manpower exchange between Korea and Vietnam, and analyze the characteristics of manpower exchange, factors and problems affecting manpower exchange, and parts that need to be supplemented. Main findings: Among foreigners staying on work visas in Korea, the number of Vietnamese is 39,477, the second highest after Chinese nationals, and 27,286 are employed under the employment permit system, accounting for the highest proportion of the total employed, accounting for 69%. However, the Korean government has operated the employment permit system mainly in regulations, resulting in many side effects such as mass production of illegal residents, and even when returning to Vietnam after working in Korea, the experience of working in Korea is often not available in Vietnam. The number of Korean companies invested in Vietnam and Koreans residing in Vietnam also increased significantly. Korean companies are having difficulty securing the necessary manpower due to the strict requirements for issuing workingr permits, even though Korean companies need the role of middle managers in order to smoothly pursue their business in Vietnam. And the number of Vietnamese studying abroad in Korea and the number of Koreans studying in Vietnam are both increasing, and the number of Korean language majors in Vietnam is also increasing, but there is a lack of specific ways to utilize these programs after the end of their curriculum. Practical/managerial implications: In order to support employers suffering from labor shortages and Vietnamese workers in poor conditions, it is necessary to ease regulations on the employment permit system quota system and to help Vietnamese workers dispatched to Korea use what they learned in Korea after returning home. In addition, it is necessary to ease and implement the work permit requirements for Koreans working as middle managers in Korean companies operating in Vietnam. And after the end of studying abroad in Vietnam in Korea, it is necessary to find employment for companies lacking professional manpower, and to expand the provision of training opportunities at Korean companies for the increased number of Vietnamese students majoring in Korean.