Seoul, Oct 19 (IANS): The South Korean Cabinet on Tuesday approved a revision to the immigration law to grant long-term residency to Afghan evacuees airlifted in August after the Taliban takeover and allow them to get jobs here.

"In order for them to live independently in our society, getting jobs must be a priority," Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said during the Cabinet meeting in Sejong.

"Ministries should review ways that can utilize their careers in Afghanistan in South Korea."

In August, the government airlifted more than 390 Afghan co-workers and their family members under a military mission as they faced possible Taliban retaliation for having supported foreign operations, reports Yonhap News Agency.

Theevacuees include medical professionals, vocational trainers, IT experts and interpreters who worked for South Korea's embassy in Kabul and its humanitarian and relief facilities in Afghanistan, as well as their family members.

They have been staying at the National Human Resources Development Institute in the central county of Jinchon, 91 km south of Seoul, taking assimilation programs provided by the government.

Kim said the Afghan evacuees will move to the Korea Coast Guard Academy in Yeosu, 450 km south of Seoul, later this month to continue their assimilation programs that are designed to help them get familiar to the Korean culture and society.