Gangwon-do, 'Helping Rural Labor Shortage'... Largest Allocation of Foreign Workers Nationwide

3949 Assigned... 23.3% of 16,924 Nationwide

Photo materials [Gangwon-do]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ra Young-cheol] Gangwon Province announced on the 19th that "to alleviate the shortage of rural labor, an additional 375 foreign seasonal workers will be allocated by the Ministry of Justice to 6 cities and counties in the second half of the year to support the applying farms."

According to the province, out of the allocated 3,574 workers, 2,549 (71%) have entered the country and have been assigned to 945 farms. This is a 6.7-fold increase compared to last year when 382 workers entered due to the impact of COVID-19.

Within the province, Yanggu-gun was the first in the nation to sign a business agreement with the Philippines in early April, and starting with 99 workers, currently 508 are helping with rural labor.

Following that, foreign seasonal workers from a total of seven countries including the Philippines, Nepal, Vietnam, and Laos are working at 945 farms in Hongcheon (545), Inje (326), and Hwacheon (151).

In July, when the busy farming season begins, rural labor brokerage centers have been established and are operating in 12 locations across 10 cities and counties within the province to secure domestic labor supply.

The province is supporting 120,000 workers, exceeding the first half's agricultural labor supply target of 90,000.

Meanwhile, responding to farmers' opinions that labor is continuously needed during the rural harvest season, the province has requested the Ministry of Justice to extend the current 5-month visa (E-8) to 2-3 months or 8 months.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.