Illustrative image (VGP)

On December 8, 2023, in Korea, Deputy Minister of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Ba Hoan and Korean Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Kim Hyejin signed an Administrative Agreement to implement the Agreement between the Government of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam and the Government of the Republic of Korea on social insurance. The contents of the Agreement aim to specify the regulations and principles signed by the Governments of the two countries in the Agreement related to retirement and death benefits according to Viet Nam's Social Insurance Law and Korean's National Pension Law; principle of equal treatment between Vietnamese and Korean workers when working in the other country's territory as with citizens of the host country in determining conditions for payment, enjoyment, and payment of rights social insurance benefits.

The Agreement and Administrative Agreement will both take effect from January 1, 2024, and will create favorable conditions for workers of the two countries to move to work in each side's territory, protecting the Social Insurance rights of workers from both nations. In addition to regulations on avoiding double payment of social insurance, employees of the two countries will be able to accumulate their time participating in social insurance in both Viet Nam and Korea as a basis for calculating retirement benefits. The Agreement and Administrative Agreement, when implemented, will meet the hopes and expectations of a large number of businesses and workers of both countries.

According to the provisions of the Agreement and the Administrative Agreement, Viet Nam Social Security is the implementing agency of the Agreement. Viet Nam Social Security promptly engaged in discussions and exchanges with the Korean National Pension Agency to sign Agreed Minutes with procedures and forms for implementing the Agreement. They also issued guidance documents, modified and supplemented software related to the procedures and forms, and arranged personnel to collect and issue certificates of social insurance subjects according to the Agreement at both central and local levels, starting from January 1, 2024.