All Korean job seekers assured of applications

Rasika SOMARATHNA

The Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) yesterday assured South Korean job seekers that there was no shortage of applications.

South Korean job seekers collecting their applications. Picture by Ashoka Premasiri

"The applications are being distributed islandwide and 28 centres for the purpose has been set up covering all districts" SLBFE Deputy General Manager Mangala Randeniya said.

He also advised Korean job aspirants to obtain their applications from regional centres closest to their residence, instead of coming to Colombo.

A tense situation prevailed outside Police Park, Havelock road on Monday as over 10,000 youth clamoured to obtain Korean job applications.

Commotion broke out when officials announced that they could only distribute 3500 applications for a day.

This resulted in a heavy traffic jam and the police called in by the authorities to quell the unrest.

The SLBFE said that unlike on Monday, the distribution of applications was conducted in a very smooth manner yesterday.

The SLBFE also said that the commotion on Monday was the result of misinformation spread among job aspirants which resulted in a large number of outstation youth camping outside police park overnight to obtain applications. During the Korean Language proficiency test held last year nearly 25,000 sat for the test.

Around 5500 passed it and a majority of them have secured employment in Korea.

The rush for jobs in South Korea comes in the backdrop of Korean government announcing an increased job quota for Sri Lankans in the country.

The Koreans have increased the annual job quota from 8000 to 15000 from next year.

South Korea is a popular destination for Sri Lankan youth in search of foreign employment opportunities due to higher wages offered in comparison to other destinations including the Middle East.