Jeongeup-si to Expand Foreign Seasonal Workers Next Year... Alleviating Rural Labor Shortage

Published 10 Nov.2023 10:33(KST)

Jeongeup City in Jeollabuk-do plans to expand the recruitment of foreign seasonal workers in 2024 to address labor shortages caused by rising rural labor costs and aging population.

According to the city on the 10th, this year, 248 foreign seasonal workers (55 through MOU agreements, 187 invited family members of marriage immigrants, and 6 foreigners residing domestically) have entered the country, providing significant help to farms struggling with labor shortages.

Jeongeup City plans to expand the recruitment of foreign seasonal workers next year to address the agricultural labor shortage. <br>[Photo by Jeongeup City]

Jeongeup City plans to expand the recruitment of foreign seasonal workers next year to address the agricultural labor shortage.
[Photo by Jeongeup City]

In particular, last month, a demand survey was conducted among local farmers and agricultural corporations regarding the employment of foreign seasonal workers for 2024, revealing that 138 farms wish to employ 540 foreign seasonal workers.

Based on this result, the city plans to promote the recruitment of more than 500 foreign seasonal workers next year, more than double this year's number, after the final allocation is confirmed through the Ministry of Justice's allocation review committee to be held in the future.

The foreign seasonal worker program is a system that allows legal employment of foreigners for a short period (E-8 visa, 5 months) in the agricultural sector, which has high seasonal labor demand.

Employing farms must provide appropriate housing conditions for workers and comply with basic employer obligations such as paying wages above the minimum hourly wage (9,860 KRW in 2024), working hours, and guaranteeing breaks and holidays.

Additionally, the basic 5-month stay period can be extended by 3 months through mutual agreement between the employer and the worker.

Especially, the recruitment of foreign seasonal workers is an absolutely necessary project for farms experiencing labor shortages due to rural population decline caused by low birth rates, aging, and population outflow.

To solve this problem, the city has been actively pursuing MOUs with overseas local governments since last year and plans to expand the number of seasonal workers by inviting family members of marriage immigrants, who have a low dropout rate.

Mayor Lee Hak-su said, “Due to the decline and aging of the rural population, farms are severely short of labor,” adding, “We will do our best to operate the foreign seasonal worker program to alleviate the difficulties faced by farms struggling with labor shortages and rising wages.”