More than a hundred overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) have been deployed to South Korea under the host nation’s employment permit system (EPS) this month, the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) said Friday.

“So far, the total number of OFWs that have arrived here is 158. Another 51 are set to arrive on Monday. We will have 209 workers that were able to enter South Korea after the lifting of entry restrictions,” Labor Attaché Ma. Celeste Valderrama said during a virtual forum.

Valderrama reported that the manufacturing industry has the highest number of Filipino workers or EPS workers, numbering 21,546.

“(About) 90 percent of them are in manufacturing. The companies are involved in the production of plastic, rubber, metal, furniture, food, and food supplements,” she added.

Valderrama noted that some OFWs are in the performing arts sector and occupations that require special skills, while some are employed as household service workers.

Some Filipinos work in shipping companies while some Filipino engineers work as car seat designers for car companies, she added.

The latest data from the POLO showed a total of 47,392 Filipinos in South Korea as of October this year.

South Korea implemented entry restrictions in June last year due to the pandemic.

In November, Seoul announced that it would allow the entry of foreign workers under the EPS from the Philippines, Myanmar, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan. (PNA)