Kim Dong-yeon Meets Thai Labor Minister: "Thankful to Thailand for Contributing to Gyeonggi-do's Development"

Gyeonggi Province and Thailand Ministry of Labor Sign Memorandum of Understanding

Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon met with Pipat Ratchakitprakarn, Minister of Labor of Thailand, and expressed gratitude to Thailand, which has contributed to the development of Gyeonggi Province, noting that more than 50,000 Thai people live in Gyeonggi Province alone.

On the 14th, Governor Kim Dong-yeon signed a Record of Discussion (ROD) with Pipat Ratchakitprakarn, who visited the Gyeonggi Provincial Government Office, stating, "More than 50,000 Thai nationals live and work in Gyeonggi Province. As the governor representing the residents of the province, I would like to express my thanks to the minister and the Thai people for their contributions to the local community and economic development of Gyeonggi Province."

In response, Minister Pipat Ratchakitprakarn said, "I remember when Governor Kim Dong-yeon visited Thailand last year and we had a conversation," adding, "Thanks to South Korea, about 1.6 million Korean tourists visited Thailand, and the Korean government and companies have made significant investments."

Earlier, during his visit to Bangkok, Thailand in July last year, Governor Kim Dong-yeon met with Pipat Ratchakitprakarn, then Minister of Tourism and Sports, to discuss mutual exchange plans and proposed a visit to Gyeonggi Province.

Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon is taking a commemorative photo after signing the Gyeonggi Province-Thailand Ministry of Labor Memorandum of Understanding with Pipat Ratchakitprakan, Minister of Labor of Thailand, and officials at Seohui Hall on the 5th floor of the Gyeonggi Provincial Government Building on the 14th.

According to the Record of Discussion on this day, Gyeonggi Province and the Thai Ministry of Labor agreed to ▲ work together to establish a close cooperative system and pursue common interests between the two countries ▲ actively recommend the conversion to skilled worker (E-7-4) visas to expand employment of Thai nationals within Gyeonggi Province ▲ jointly work on measures to prevent illegal stay of Thai nationals in Korea through proper workforce management.

There are approximately 163,000 Thai nationals residing nationwide, of which 30%, or 50,000, live in Gyeonggi Province. Among them, 11,000 are foreign workers.

Thailand is a visa-exempt country, and there is a high proportion of illegal stays after entering Korea on short-term visas, raising concerns about difficulties in managing illegal residents and various social issues. Taking this meeting as an opportunity, the Thai Ministry of Labor promised to prepare measures to prevent illegal stays of Thai nationals in the province and to promote legal and orderly migration.

Meanwhile, Gyeonggi Province will continue to implement foreigner protection policies in line with the purpose of this Record of Discussion. Leading efforts in protecting the rights and interests of foreigners, Gyeonggi Province is promoting multifaceted support such as Korean language education at various levels, cultural diversity education to enhance mutual understanding between foreigners and locals, settlement support, medical support for foreign workers, and emergency support for living and medical expenses.

In addition, through the skilled worker (E-7-4) Gyeonggi Province bonus recommendation system, plans are underway to enable more Thai workers to benefit from visa conversion.