Jinan-gun and Thailand Ministry of Labor Join Hands to Introduce Foreign Seasonal Workers

The Nation's First Agreement... Second Following the Philippines This Year

Jinan-gun, Jeonbuk Province (Governor Jeon Chun-seong) announced on the 26th that it has signed an MOU with Thailand for the introduction of foreign seasonal workers, the first of its kind in Korea.

To address the shortage of agricultural labor, more than 30 officials from both countries, including Jeon Chun-seong, Governor of Jinan-gun, and Suchat Chomklin, Minister of Labor of Thailand, gathered at Lotte Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul, to join hands for the introduction of seasonal workers.

On the 26th, Jinan-gun held a meeting at Lotte Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul, to address the shortage of agricultural labor. About 30 people, including Jeon Chun-seong, the governor of Jinan-gun, Suchat Chomklin, the Minister of Labor of Thailand, and other officials from both countries, joined hands to introduce seasonal workers. The photo shows, from left to right, Jeon Chun-seong, governor of Jinan-gun; Suchat Chomklin, Minister of Labor of Thailand; and Phailot Chotikassatiyan, Director of Employment Bureau, Ministry of Labor of Thailand.
Photo by Jinan-gun

This agreement ceremony is highly significant as it was achieved through the direct communication and prior consultations over a year and a half between the county’s manpower support team and the labor attach? office of the Thai embassy.

In particular, unlike other countries, Thailand’s involvement began without intermediaries, initiated by recommendations from local residents. Residents who have experienced farming together with Thai workers actively recommended Thai workers due to their high trust, and the county responded to the residents’ difficulties through communication.

The governor said, "With this agreement, mutual trust is secured, and if meaningful results are achieved in the rural labor sector, we will expand cultural, educational, and human exchanges. We will also provide opportunities for re-entry to diligent workers."

Suchat Chomklin, Minister of Labor of Thailand, stated, "We will do our best in recruitment, selection, dispatch, and post-management through pre-education so that excellent personnel can be sent to Jinan-gun, integrate with local residents without leaving, and work well."

After this agreement ceremony, the county plans to promote the introduction and placement of foreign seasonal workers from the relevant countries by reflecting the demand survey for farm business owners for the first half of next year.

Meanwhile, the county has made every effort to resolve the serious labor shortage problem caused by rapid aging and multi-crop small-scale farming, which varies by crop season.

Earlier this year, it signed MOUs with two local governments in the Philippines: Magallanes City in Cavite Province and Quirino Province. It also introduced families of marriage immigrants as seasonal workers, listening closely to field voices while promoting administration. As a result, about 350 foreign seasonal workers from Vietnam (170), the Philippines (167), Thailand, Cambodia, and China are engaged in agriculture.

Meanwhile, until last year, the structure was dominated by Vietnamese foreign seasonal workers, who made up more than 70% of the marriage immigrant group, but the county has actively introduced Filipino workers. This has broadened the choices for farms and achieved securing high-quality labor.

Going forward, the county expects that if labor from the three countries?Vietnam, the Philippines, and Thailand?is stably supplied, a healthy mutual competition system will be established, securing quality labor and preventing unauthorized departures. Accordingly, the county plans to thoroughly manage by regularly checking compliance with the Labor Standards Act and providing basic agricultural education to workers during the introduction of foreign seasonal workers.

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