Dili, June 18, 2025 (Média Democracia) – The Ombudsman for Human Rights and Justice (PDHJ), Virgilio da Silva Guterres “Lamukan”, declared that so far no complaints have been received regarding the 2023 Korean language course workers who passed the tests but have not yet received employment contracts from Korean companies.
The Ombudsman for Human Rights and Justice (PDHJ), Virgilio da Silva Guterres “Lamukan”, stated that usually complaints occasionally enter the Public Service Department, preliminary evaluation reports are made before forwarding to the case management for discussion.
“Until now, I have not received any information from the Ombudsman for Human Rights and Justice (PDHJ) and the Public Service Department related to the 2023 Korean language course workers,” said Ombudsman Virgilio da Silva Guterres “Lamukan” to journalists at the cathedral hall on Monday (16/06/2025).
He further explained that sometimes complaints do come in, but once submitted to the Public Service Department, they are first subjected to preliminary assessment reports before being forwarded to case management for further discussion.
Previously, candidates from the 2023 Korean language course held a press conference with the Secretary of State for Vocational Training and Employment (SEFOPE), accusing the National Directorate of Foreign Employment (DNEE) of discrimination and unfair treatment, including alleged manipulation of the candidate lists in the system.
The spokesperson for the Korean worker candidates, Julio da Conceição, accused the Secretary of State for Vocational Training and Employment (SEFOPE) through the National Directorate of Foreign Employment (DNEE) of discrimination, unfair treatment, and manipulation of the lists.
“We suspect SEFOPE has manipulated these lists and they work with transparently and sustainably or not, and we have already communicated this concern to them but they never answer us,” said Julio da Conceição to journalists in Becora.
He explained that all candidates had submitted their documents for processing to Korea, but some candidates still have not received employment contracts. Therefore, they are requesting SEFOPE to work properly so that all workers have equal opportunities to work in Korea.
“We started taking the Korean language course in 2022, which lasted for six months, while some colleagues took a one-year course. Afterwards, we took the ESP TOPIK exam in October 2023 and scored above the standard passing mark, then followed by the skill test with high scores as well, but until now, we have not received any job offers,” he explained.
He informed that for over a year, Timorese workers have been waiting for contracts. During this period, some candidates’ documents have been approved while others are still pending.
Furthermore, he explained that a total of 1,141 candidates passed the ESP TOPIK skill test. Following this, SEFOPE instructed the candidates to complete their documents from 2024 to 2025. Of the approximately 100 Timorese candidates from the 2023 Korean language course, none have received contracts so far.
Report: Nelfiano
Photo: Nelfiano