In an e-mail message on Saturday

Indonesia’s chief manpower official Moh Jumhur Hidayat and ambassador to South Korea Nicholas T Dammen discussed in Seoul on Saturday the return of Indonesian over stayers in that country. In an e-mail message on Saturday, Jumhur said that the Indonesian embassy in Seoul has since 2010 also focused on the protection and services for the Indonesian migrant workers (TKI) working in that country. The service and protection agenda for the TKI is intended to give attention and monitor the problems faced by Indonesian workers in South Korea, he said.

Jumhur, who is head of the National Agency for Protection and Placement of Indonesian Migrant Workers Abroad (BNP2TKI), during the meeting was accompanied by BNP2TKI Director for Placement Services Haposan Saragih and Protection and Advocacy Director Sadono. He was on a two-day visit to South Korea to handle Indonesian over stayers in South Korea.

They discussed efforts to return to Indonesia over stayers which also involved the Indonesian embassy and South Korean agencies such as immigration, manpower ministry and human resources of Korea. Jumhur said that the ambassador had been focused on the protection and faster services for TKIs.

There are some 2,800 - 2,900 Indonesian migrant workers who have overstayed in South Korea and have been registered by the South Korean immigration. The 2,800 - 2,900 figure are Indonesian migrant workers who have worked in that country since 2004 and 2007 with work contract expiration of three years.