Allocation of 26,788 Foreign Seasonal Workers in the First Half of Next Year... Twice the Number from the Previous Year

Foreign Seasonal Worker Allocation Review Committee

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Kim Hyewon] The government has allocated a total of 26,788 foreign seasonal workers to 124 local governments nationwide for the first half of next year. This is the largest scale ever, 2.2 times more than the 12,330 workers allocated in the first half of this year.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced on the 14th that it confirmed this by holding the 'Foreign Seasonal Worker Allocation Review Council' jointly with related ministries.

This year, 19,718 foreign seasonal workers were allocated to 114 local governments nationwide, and in reality, 11,342 workers participated in 98 local governments to assist with labor in farming and fishing villages.

This is more than six times the number compared to 2021, when the entry of foreign seasonal workers was restricted due to COVID-19 (48 local governments, 1,850 workers).

At this council meeting, following the proposal from the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, considering the seasonality of scallop seed input (February to May) and harvesting period (July to November), foreign seasonal workers will be allowed to be employed even in small-scale aquaculture sites (less than 5 hectares) in Goseong-gun, Gyeongsangnam-do.

Regarding the issue of foreign seasonal worker absconding, the country with the highest absconding rate, Country A, will be restricted from sending seasonal workers to all domestic local governments through a memorandum of understanding (MOU) method for three years starting next year. Additionally, some overseas local governments with high absconding rates, including four local governments of Country B, one local government of Country C, and one local government of Country D, will be restricted from sending workers to Korea for one year.

The government plans to protect the human rights of foreign seasonal workers by conducting regular surveys and human rights violation prevention education, and will strengthen sanctions against overseas local governments with high absconding rates.

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