Declaration of Nationwide Expansion of the "Geochang-Pura Seasonal Worker Model" in the Philippines

Mayor of Pura and Workers Officially Invited to Joint Declaration by Six Central Ministries
Agreement Announced to Expand Seasonal Worker Program Nationwide

On November 10, Geochang County, South Gyeongsang Province, announced that at the signing ceremony for the joint statement on the implementation of the seasonal worker program held in Manila, Philippines, the Philippine government officially recognized the “Geochang-style Seasonal Worker Model” between Geochang County and Pura City, and released a joint statement from six ministries to promote its nationwide adoption.

The joint statement signed on this occasion establishes comprehensive standards at the level of the Philippine central government to strengthen the safety, legality, systematic management, and protection of workers in the process of dispatching Philippine seasonal workers to Korea.

Group photo of the Philippine Pura Market visiting Geochang County.

The signing ceremony was hosted by the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) of the Philippines and attended by six central government ministries-Bureau of Immigration (BI), Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Justice (DOJ), and Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG)-as well as the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in the Philippines and the Mayor of Pura.

John Paul Balmores, Mayor of Pura, was the only local government official from the Philippines to be formally invited to the event, along with Filipino seasonal workers who will enter Geochang County in November. This recognition signifies that the seasonal worker cooperation system jointly promoted by Geochang County and Pura City has been acknowledged by the Philippine government as a best practice and is being positioned as a nationwide model.

Previously, on October 29, Hans Leo Cacdac, the Secretary of the Department of Migrant Workers who visited Korea to attend the 32nd APEC meeting, made his first official visit to Geochang County to directly review its operations and evaluated it as a leading example in terms of worker welfare and workplace management.

During the signing ceremony, the Department of Migrant Workers once again highlighted the cooperation system established between Geochang County and Pura City, officially stating, “The model operated through inter-local government cooperation without broker intervention is a representative best practice for ensuring the safe dispatch and working environment of seasonal workers.”

County Governor Koo Inmo stated, “Following Secretary Cacdac’s visit to Geochang, it is very meaningful and important for building continued trust that our Geochang-Pura model was officially mentioned at a central government event in the Philippines. Geochang County will continue to work closely with the Philippine government and Pura City to create a sustainable international workforce exchange model that benefits both workers and local farms.”

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