Goheung-gun Introduces Public-Type Seasonal Foreign Worker Program

Published 28 Apr.2023 16:51(KST)

Daily Labor Supply to Solve Labor Shortage During Peak Farming Season

Goheung-gun, Jeollanam-do (Governor Gong Young-min) announced that it is making every effort to solve the shortage of agricultural labor caused by the decrease and aging of the rural population.

Goheung-gun stated that about 20 foreign workers entered the country on the 27th to promote the ‘Public Seasonal Worker Project’ to effectively respond to labor demand during the busy farming season.

[Photo by Goheung-gun]

The Public Seasonal Worker Project is a public contest project led by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. Nationwide, 19 locations were selected, and in Jeollanam-do, ‘Goheung Pungyang Nonghyup’ and ‘Naju Baewonye Nonghyup’ were chosen as project participants, making this the first time it is being promoted in Jeollanam-do this year.

Until now, the foreign seasonal worker system involved farmers employing foreign workers for a long term of 3 to 5 months, so farms that needed short-term labor could not participate. To supplement this, the introduced public seasonal worker system assigns local agricultural cooperatives to handle worker contracts, operations, and placements, reducing the employment burden on farms and enabling labor supply to farms in need on a minimum daily basis.

In particular, the public seasonal worker system is useful for small-scale farms that need short-term labor only during the busy farming season, and it is expected to reduce the high labor cost burden by operating with affordable wages.

Going forward, Goheung Pungyang Nonghyup will employ foreign seasonal workers for five months, providing timely support to farms requiring short-term labor on a daily basis, and will manage labor by providing lodging and meals to workers to maintain a stable labor supply.

A county official said, “We are operating four rural labor brokerage centers, and the employment of foreign seasonal workers is steadily increasing,” adding, “With the promotion of the public seasonal worker project this time, labor supply according to labor demand during the busy farming season is expected to proceed smoothly.”

Meanwhile, Goheung-gun plans to continuously expand the recruitment of foreign workers necessary for rural labor supply to solve the rural labor shortage problem.