Gochang County and Heungdeok Nonghyup Sign MOU for Public Seasonal Worker Project

"Addressing the Farm Labor Shortage"

Gochang County in Jeonbuk Province and Heungdeok Nonghyup signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the 10th to promote the 2027 Public Seasonal Worker Project.

Gochang County in Jeonbuk Province and Heungdeok Nonghyup signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the 10th to promote the 2027 Public Seasonal Worker Project. Photo by Gochang County

According to the county on December 11, this agreement was pursued to lay the groundwork for the stable implementation of the project starting in February 2027, by completing essential preparatory steps early, such as confirming the countries for worker recruitment, securing accommodations, and allocating budgets.

The county has been a pioneer in establishing the foundation for the public seasonal worker project by constructing agricultural worker dormitories in different regions.

Starting with the nation’s first dormitory in the southern region (Daesan-myeon) in May 2024, a dormitory in the central region (Gongeum-myeon) is scheduled to open in February next year, followed by the northern region (Heungdeok-myeon) dormitory in February 2027. The county also plans to gradually expand dormitory facilities in the western and town center regions, aiming to establish a stable supply system of seasonal workers for farms throughout the county.

The county has expanded the public seasonal worker project in collaboration with local agricultural cooperatives. Last year, Seonunsan Nonghyup operated the project, and the scope was expanded to include Daeseong Nonghyup.

In 2027, with Heungdeok Nonghyup newly joining, the project will develop into a cooperative model involving a total of three local agricultural cooperatives. This is expected to strengthen on-site responsiveness centered on Nonghyup and establish a system for supplying skilled workers.

With the opening of the northern region dormitory in 2027 and the full participation of Heungdeok Nonghyup, customized and skilled personnel will be allocated to match the characteristics of farms in the northern region, which is expected to greatly help address the farm labor shortage.

Baek Youngjong, head of Heungdeok Nonghyup, stated, "As this project will begin with the opening of the northern region dormitory in 2027, we will do our best to stably supply skilled public seasonal workers to northern region farms and help resolve the labor shortage."

Sim Deokseop, governor of Gochang County, said, "This marks an important starting point for systematically linking the regional dormitory construction support project and the public seasonal worker project," adding, "We will continue to actively expand the project to create a vibrant Gochang where both residents and foreign seasonal workers can be happy together."

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