JAKARTA - Indonesia’s Ministry for the Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers said on July 4 that 1,063 Indonesian migrant worker candidates who had passed initial selection joined a skill test in Semarang for South Korea’s Government-to-Government fishery placement programme.
The ministry said the test was held on July 4-5 for candidates seeking placement through the South Korea route. Its July 4 release said Indonesia’s placement roster for South Korea had reached 13,831 candidates as of June 30, including 2,113 candidates from the fishery sector.
The programme sits under the Employment Permit System, or EPS. In its January 27 recruitment notice, the ministry said jobseekers seeking work in South Korea through EPS must follow a point-based recruitment process conducted by the Human Resources Development Service of Korea, known as HRD Korea.
For 2026 recruitment, the ministry set a final-pass quota of 1,000 candidates for the fishery sector and 1,000 for manufacturing. Fishery applicants are selected by ranking from the second-stage exam score, and only candidates who pass the first EPS-TOPIK stage can enter the second-stage exam.
Deputy Minister Christina Aryani told fishery-sector candidates in a March 30 briefing that Indonesia was competing with other labour-sending countries for South Korea placements.
“We are not alone. There are 16 other countries competing to send migrant workers to Korea. Because of that, we all have a responsibility to maintain employers’ trust,” she said.
The second stage is not limited to Korean-language ability. The ministry’s recruitment notice says the point system also assesses work experience, ability and skills in the chosen sector. The skill test itself covers physical strength, interviews and basic ability.
The fishery route also carries a sector-specific document requirement. The ministry’s January 27 notice says fishery applicants must have a Basic Safety Training certificate, either BST STCW or BST STCW-F, issued by Indonesia’s transport ministry, fisheries ministry or an accredited training institution recognised by a national or international maritime authority.
South Korea remains a tight formal-placement channel for Indonesian workers. The ministry said on April 27 that 6,860 Indonesian migrant workers were placed in South Korea in 2025, and 3,663 G-to-G workers had resigned from employers between 2021 and early March 2026.
