Korea and Vietnam to hold complaint hearing for nationals of the other nation on a regular basis

Government Inspectorate of Vietnam will meet with Korean businesses and nationals living in Vietnam every year to resolve their difficulties

June 6, 2019

Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission

The Republic of Korea

The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission and Government Inspectorate of Vietnam agreed to hold a complaint hearing every year to listen difficulties of Vietnamese living in Korea, and those of Korean businesses operating in Vietnam, respectively.

On Jun 5, Vice Chairperson Kwon Taesung of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC, Chairperson Pak Un Jong) had a meeting with Government Inspectorate of Vietnam (GIV) organized under the MOU between the two agencies.

ACRC and GIV have visited the other twice a year so far. During this year’s visit to Vietnam, ACRC held a meeting with Koreans living in Vietnam to listen difficulties they encountered in the country.

The two agencies shared the view that given the increasing number of bilateral trades and human resource exchanges between Korea and Vietnam every year, this type of complaint hearing meeting should be held more frequently. Based on this understanding, they decided to hold a complaint hearing meeting for nationals of the other nation every year.

According to such decision, GIV will hold a complaint hearing meeting for Koreans living in Vietnam on a regular basis. So, Korean expats in Vietnam will be able to get their difficulties heard and resolved through such meeting by GIV when ACRC is not present.

ACRC also will hold complaint hearing meetings for Vietnamese in Korea to listen their difficulties as part of its efforts to more actively protect their rights and interests.

In addition, ACRC and GIV agreed to further strengthen cooperation in the Ombudsman area by conducting a joint research on frequent complaints and social issue-related complaints and exchanging annual work plan.

During the visit to Vietnam, Vice Chairperson Kwon met with Koreans living in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City on Jun 4 and 6, respectively, listening difficulties and inconveniences they faced while doing business and in their daily life in Vietnam.

Vice Chairperson Kwon delivered their difficulties to GIV, and the two agencies will work together to resolve them.

Currently, 5,500 Korean companies are doing business and about 120,000 Koreans are living in Vietnam, which is Korea’s fourth major trading partner. About 200,000 Vietnamese are living in Korea, the largest investing country for Vietnam.

Mr. Kwon said, “I am confident that this meeting between ACRC and GIV will serve as an opportunity to better protect the rights and interests of 5,500 Korean companies in Vietnam and 120,000 Vietnamese in Korea”.