Korean shipbuilders in a jam as Vietnamese welders denied entry

A worker welds ship components at Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering's shipyard in Geoje, South Gyeongsang, on July 21. [NEWS1]

Over 1,000 Vietnamese skilled workers have been denied entry to Korea due to forged documents, leaving shipbuilders short of labor just as orders are increasing.

A total of 1,150 welders from Vietnam assigned to work at Korean shipyards on E-7 work visas were denied entry, according to local press reports. The reports said that entry documents had been forged by unscrupulous brokers, including documents related to education and work experience.

A minimum of two years of experience is required for workers in the welding category to enter Korea on a E-7 work visa.

Welding is 70 percent of the shipbuilding process, and Vietnamese workers are 41 percent of welders at Korean shipyards, so the unanticipated absence of the foreign welders could lead to a delay of orders by up to a month, according to an industry source quoted by the reports.

The Korean government is working closely with the Vietnamese government to allow entry of the workers and seeking workers in Thailand, Sri Lanka and Indonesia, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on Monday.

The ministry has organized a team tasked with coping with the shortage.

"The ministry has set up and operates a task force of laborers and management," the Trade Ministry said in a statement, "Based on the discussions in the team, we plan to come up with measures to address the problem."

"The ministry is working with Thailand, Sri Lanka and Indonesia to substitute the welders," the statement read.

The number of employment permits for shipbuilding in 2023 will be expanded to 110,000 in total – the largest number of permits ever granted. The trade ministry promised that early entry will be allowed in the future.

Skill training in welding will be further provided for about 3,000 foreign nationals already in Korea.

Besides these measures to tackle the labor shortage in shipyards, the government promised to extend the validity of work visas for key workers, including welders, and to discuss long-term policies together with shipbuilding companies, local government and experts in the field.

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]