Vietnamese citizen protection measures taken in RoK amid COVID-19 fears

The Vietnam Ministry of Foreign Affairs has adopted a score of swift measures to protect Vietnamese nationals in the Republic of Korea (RoK), which reported a sharp rise in the number of confirmed novel coronavirus (COVID-19) infection cases over the last few days.

According to the Vietnamese Embassy, approximately 200,000 Vietnamese people are living in the RoK, including nearly 8,300 in Daegu city, the epicenter of the outbreak in the country.

There are no reports so far of Vietnamese nationals confirmed or suspected of having the virus in the RoK, the ministry said.

The Embassy has launched a round-the-clock hotline, +82 106 315 6618, for Vietnamese expats here to seek help while the management authority of Vietnamese guest workers in Korea has also set up a hotline number +82 103 248 6886 to provide support for those in need.

Nguyen Gia Liem, Deputy Director of the labor ministry’s Department of Overseas Labor underlined the necessity for the management authority of Vietnamese guest workers in the RoK to set up liaison offices in Daegu and Gyeongbuk to monitor the situation of Vietnamese workers there and inform them in case of emergency.”

Daegu is the capital of Gyeongbuk province which currently houses 18,500 Vietnamese workers.