(Video) Selected Comments Samdech Moha Bovor Thipadei Hun Manet, the Cambodian community in the Republic of Korea [Unofficial translations]
(1) Level up Cambodia-Korea relations as a strategic partner
What does praise and trust give? […] as the head of the Royal Government, what are the results for coming (to the Republic of Korea) for three days? […] the first major goal of this first official visit as the head of the Royal Government or as the Prime Minister at the invitation of the President of the Republic of Korea […] is to strengthen the relationship between the two countries and our people in all fields […] by which, we have raised the level of diplomacy from a normal relationship to a strategic partnership […] which means that relations in all areas, including the labor sector, will be further strengthened and deepened, and more active for the benefit of both countries […]
(2) RoK ranks second in terms of investment in Cambodia
Cambodia has signed a free trade agreement with RoK. The Ministries of Trade of the two countries have met for the first time […] the trade volume between the two countries has reached one billion dollars and RoK is the second largest investor in Cambodia. (We know, however, that) we have not yet reached the potential. This means that by sharpening this strategic partnership, we hope that our trade volume will increase to two billion, or three billion, or four billion dollars and more […] Cambodia has diplomatic relations with many countries. In some, we have had relations for more than 60 or 70 years, but we have not yet entered the strategic partnership. With (Republic of Korea), in just 27 years, we are now upgrading from a normal relationship to a strategic partnership […]
(3) Working for Incheon-Siem Reap, Jeju-Siem Reap and Busan-Siem Reap flights
I have raised a suggestion, and His Excellency the President of Korea also made a point that effort should be made to reconnect the flight from Incheon to Siem Reap. Hopefully, we will have the flights from Jeju to Siem Reap and from Busan to Siem Reap too […] and when that happens, our brothers and sisters who are working there will spend less time and money (traveling to and from). We hope to accomplish this because the intention is there. Importantly, we agreed on how to expand the relationship, and more people travel (to anfd from) […] and expand the quota for our people to work in Korea […]
(4) Attracting Korean private investments to create jobs and export products
The second task, apart from state-to-state relations, the work I never miss is to lure or attract investment from the private sector. For this visit, we have worked a lot with the Korean private sector […] we hope that the private sectors of the two countries will have children and grandchildren (cooperation) in Cambodia, setting up various investments, creating jobs and delivering more exports to Korea […] we set up a special economic zone to attract investments from RoK, the result of which is not for me. They will go and invest for the benefit of the Cambodian people, create jobs, generate income, increase Cambodia-Korea relations […] Deputy Prime Minister, HE Sun Chanthol, reported […] that from the beginning of January to May this year, there were 147 projects, with a total investment fund of about US$ 2.7 billion coming from both local and foreign companies […]
(5) Polite, gentle, hardworking and honest – a gift of the people of Cambodia
I have met SM Entertainment representatives, including popstar […] and finally, we met with forum of the industry alliance, representatives of big companies […] should they not love Cambodia, they would not go (to Cambodia), especially in the Entertainment industry. If our people are not polite, not attractive, they will not go […] they have seen that Cambodians working here are polite, gentle, and […] in general, the hardworking, humble and honest nature are the gifts of our people. This is a factor to consider […] there are 10 countries, and soon there will be East Timor in the Southeast Asia group, but this industry has decided to take Cambodia is not by chance, especially in the field of culture and art […] we maintain our culture and traditions, but we do not deny the evolution, growth, flexibility […]
(6) The priority goal is to create quality local jobs
The (Cambodian) Ambassador’s report states that our population (living and working) here is over 50,000 people, plus about 10,000 more who have permanent residencies, citizenship, and children […] the main task of the Royal Government is to create quality jobs to promote the national economy and ensure sustainable growth. Creating local jobs is a top priority, but we also recognize that creating job opportunities abroad is an option that we have to establish for the people. Some accused the Prime Minister of bragging only about sending Cambodians to work as servant in other countries […] in the stage of globalization, countries have signed free trade agreements to make sure they achieve the flow of products, the flow of capital, the flow of people, so that countries lacking labor can have access to what they need […]
(7) Migrant workers will get three benefits
What are the benefits for countries to allow their people to migrate for works? The first benefit will be your income, salary and high standard of living for yourself. The second benefit will be for you to send (money) to parents at home […] while the third one, for those who are here for jobs, will acquire the skills in addition to incomes. When you go back home, some of you may get a good job because of your experience […] or some of you save and invest in your own business. It is this skill that we now need. We are transforming the industry from just ordinary garments to advanced industries such as car assembly, industrial, electrical components, […]
(8) Do not think of “going to serve” but “to help grow the economy”
What would the country like Korea that receives workers achieve? […] Korea is in need of manpower. In the past, Korea is short of labor only in agriculture. Now, Korea lacks labor and skill in many fields – shipbuilding, civil engineering, engineering, etc., not just ordinary labor force. That being the reality, bringing in workers from abroad together will help Korea boost its economy […] in Korea, if you noticed, there are always more applicants than demand, though. Why? This happens because working here is well paid, plus there is good working conditions. You do not think of yourself as servants, but labor force that helps grow the economy. This is something we have to be proud of at work […]
(9) Three factors increased the Cambodian labor force in Korea
[…] Three factors increased the Cambodian labor force in Korea as it is today. Firstly, the re-establishment of diplomatic relations between Cambodia and South Korea in 1997 […] when Samdech Techo tried to overcome domestic challenges to have a new political turning point. Now, 27 years later, we have this positive result […]; Secondly, the efforts of the relevant institutions, the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training, our Embassy here, which cooperates well with the relevant Korean institutions […]; and, thirdly, the most important player in promoting the increase in workers is our hardworking workers […] that the Korean bosses want […] all three factors have led us to evolve in the field of employment in Korea. That Cambodia expands employment opportunities for the next generation (of workers) is because of the brothers/sisters (who) came earlier. If we perform well, and they wanted good people, we have created a favorable precedence for them […]
(10) The Migrant Workers Support Center and the Korean Labor Counseling Center cooperate with the embassy to advise and resolve legal matters
We worked with the Migrant Workers Support Center and the Korean Labor Counseling Center because in some places we could not perform the duties. Our embassy has no rights (to bring the issue forthwith) because it is on Korean soil. In this regard, we have ti work with the Korean mechanism […] I thank the Korean administration, both at the central and provincial levels – for providing this service to our people […] where there is a problem, we try to cooperate with relevant mechanism to solve. I congratulate you on this achievement and hope that this work will continue as we will soon have more people to serve, thus we need to expand and strengthen the ownership to do this work […]
(11) In case of occupational hazards, make sure benefits get to the families
Sometimes, unfortunate situation like accident that causes injuries or even loss of life, I urge our embassy and the Ministry of Labor, in cooperation with the relevant Korean institutions and the Korean lawyers, to ensure proper management […] there must be an officer to accompany remains to the family […] for which the government will provide the budget to manage the process and to make sure the benefits get to the (family) […] I hope that that sad case will not happen, but as it did in the past, it was inevitable. No matter what, we are working hard with a lawyer to solve various problems. The Koreans provide a lawyer, but we have to coordinate, especially with the family, how to get benefits to the hands of the family so that no (loss) occurs […]
(12) Brilliant City used Ponzi Scheme
How many people are involved in Brilliant City? […] some people do not know about it. They come to know it when I mentioned the former Oknha Leng Channa. This is also a concern for some of you in Korea […] this case is not new. It is new in Cambodia, but it has a history that dated back to 1800, and the first real case happened in the United States in 1920 as it was played by Charles Ponzi, an Italian who went to the United States […] it all happened for wrong evaluation […] firstly, customers think it is safe. Some dare to buy up – not one but 100 or 200 houses, hoping for speculation […] and secondly, the wrong assessment of investment. Real estate management problem is not a matter just in Cambodia. Even in the United States, no one would know how the market reacts […]
I first saw the case of Leng Channa on Facebook in mid of February, and I assigned Deputy Prime Minister (and Minister of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction) His Excellency Say Sam Al to coordinate study this issue to find a solution […] why did we decide to arrest (Leng Channa)? […] I let two or three groups study the same case […] Finally, it has come to our knowledge that the person is not taking responsibility. Obviously, it is, to our analysis, a scam. It is not a real estate project that is facing with a crisis and that is trying to find a way out. The group plays the Ponzi scheme. On March 12, 2024, I authorize the authorities to detain the person and take the case to court […]
(13) RGC does not leave people’s difficulties without taking appropriate measures and providing possible assistance
The main goal here is to find a way to get to the remaining resource […] the state did not participate when the people invested (with the company), but, because you are the Cambodian citizen, the state has an obligation to do what it can to help you […] you may ask who ordered the arrest of Leng Channa? Who requested removal of the person’s Oknha title? Who else would and could have done that if not the Prime Minister? Some say the case must be sent to court. Even in courts, the authorities should cooperate with the courts allowed within the legal framework to assist in the research and to provide information […] We find ways to settle this matter gradually. This work is not finished yet.
The government is not asleep […] we have now detained one, or two, or three involved persons altogether […] however, arresting them is not our big goal. The main goal is to find what is left, how much is left, and settle them accordingly for the people […] we are settling issues of satellite cities one after the other, quietly, […] I would clarify that we may not make known what we are doing because what the Prime Minister said can be used as a settlement formula. Each case is different. Each satellite city is different. We need to entrust stakeholders, both clients and project owners, creditors, to cooperate under the coordination of the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction to find practical solutions. Otherwise, we will create more issues instead solving them […] I am asking our people to trust that the Royal Government will not leave your difficulties without taking appropriate measures and all possible help […]
(14) Three more months for the mission of identification officers to continue issuing passports in Korea
What we can do for you here is to get a new passport in Korea, and to facilitate the conditions (with which you are required to fulfil) […] I have agreed to prolong three more months for the identification officers to issue passports to those who have not yet had theirs done […] and we are working together for the preservation of our culture and religion [..] our two Buddhist monks here play an important role in preserving our religion […] there have places where we provide dance lessons […] I am calling on the embassy and the Ministry of Labor to discuss the possibility of setting up a place, where there are many Cambodians living, especially those who have children, […] to give Cambodian children time to learn Khmer on weekends […] we can find among our brothers and sisters who work here, or even students who study nearby to help with teaching […] let us try out in one or two places. If it works, we can think of a more tangible possibility. It is important that we maintain linkage to our culture, religion and language […]
(15) To start the construction of the Funan-Techo canal whether or not there is the participation of foreign investors
[…] The Funan-Techo canal project is neither mine nor Samdech Techo’s, and nor the “Hun” family’s […] but a project born out of the support of the Cambodian people around the world […] upon my return, we will set the motion to start the job soon […] we will not backtrack, whether or not there is the participation of foreign investors […] It is important for Cambodia to get this project done together not for threatening anyone or taking anyone in against anyone else, but for the national interest, reducing poverty, and promoting Cambodia to become a high-income country […]./.
