Yoon Seung-oh, Gyeongbuk Provincial Council Member, Urges Urgent Measures for Foreign Seasonal Workers' Human Rights Violations and Unauthorized Absences... Proposes Ordinance

5300 Personnel Assigned to Gyeongbuk This Year

Regulations on Supervision, Budget Support, and More

Yoon Seung-oh, a member of the Gyeongbuk Provincial Council (People Power Party, Yeongcheon), proposed the "Gyeongsangbuk-do Foreign Seasonal Worker Support Ordinance," the first of its kind nationwide, at the 342nd extraordinary session.

Through the proposal of this ordinance, Gyeongbuk Province will be able to comprehensively and systematically manage the foreign seasonal worker workforce, which had previously been promoted separately by each city and county.

The main contents of the ordinance define the employers of foreign seasonal workers as farmers, fishermen, agricultural and fishery corporations, or agricultural cooperatives, establish support plans at the Gyeongbuk provincial level, specify preliminary implementation requirements for the support plan, assign dedicated personnel for managing and supporting foreign seasonal workers, provide budget support for city and county projects, and regulate guidance and inspection of employers' compliance and working conditions according to the support plan.

Gyeongbuk Provincial Council Member Yoon Seung-oh.

According to the Ministry of Justice's announcement, the number of foreign seasonal workers nationwide was only 1,850 in 48 cities and counties in 2021 due to COVID-19 entry restrictions, but it significantly increased in 2022, with 11,342 workers participating in 98 cities and counties.

This year, 26,788 workers were allocated to 124 local governments nationwide, of which Gyeongbuk Province received 5,314 workers (19.8%) across 18 cities and counties, ranking second among 11 metropolitan cities and provinces. Therefore, the need has arisen for Gyeongbuk Province to collect opinions from cities and counties regarding the supply and operation of foreign seasonal workers in the province's agriculture and fisheries sectors.

Yoon Seung-oh of the Gyeongbuk Provincial Council stated, "We proposed this ordinance after gathering field complaints that comprehensive measures at the Gyeongbuk provincial level are necessary to address common difficulties faced by each city and county, such as labor shortages and supply challenges in rural agricultural and fishery areas, support for living environments including dormitories for foreign seasonal workers, unauthorized absences, human rights violations, and education."

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