Uzbek Welder Wins Prestigious Best Foreign Worker Award in South Korea

Uzbek national Khojiakbar Akbarov has been honored as the Best Foreign Worker at the 2025 Employment Permit System Conference held in Seoul.

The competition, aimed at enhancing cooperation with countries that send labor migrants to South Korea under the Employment Permit System, also fosters experience sharing and supports sustainable development in labor migration, The Caspian Post reports per Uzbek media.

Organized by the Korean Human Resources Development Service, the event saw Akbarov receive the prestigious award from South Korea’s Minister of Labor, Kim Young-hoon.

Since 2023, Akbarov has been employed as a welder at HD Hyundai Samho, with his placement facilitated by Uzbekistan’s Agency for External Labour Migration.

As of June 2025, over 98,400 Uzbek citizens live in South Korea, making the Uzbek community the fifth-largest foreign diaspora in the country.