"Securing Manpower First for Harvest Season"... Yeongyang County Selects Seasonal Workers in Vietnam

300 Candidates Verified Through On-Site Practical Tests and Interviews
Enhanced Customized Labor Supply System for Local Farms

Yeongyang County in North Gyeongsang Province is further strengthening its system for securing foreign seasonal workers ahead of the main agricultural harvest season.

The county is not only seeking to simply increase manpower, but is also directly verifying, on site, the actual agricultural work skills of prospective workers, thereby addressing the labor shortage in rural areas.

Yeongyang County, Direct Selection of Seasonal Workers from Vietnam for the Second Half of the Year Arriving in August
Photo by Yeongyang County

Yeongyang County announced that it will conduct on-site interviews in Hoa Tien Commune, Da Nang City, Vietnam, from May 19 to 21, to select the "2026 MOU 4th Round Second Half Foreign Seasonal Workers," who are scheduled to enter Korea in early August.

This recruitment targets approximately 300 new applicants, excluding those workers who have been requested to re-enter by the farms.

To enhance the effectiveness of the seasonal worker program and improve adaptability in the agricultural field, public officials from the county will visit the local site and conduct both interviews and practical assessments as part of the recruitment process.

Since the first half of this year, Yeongyang County has improved its previous document-based screening system by introducing a field-based evaluation method.

This approach aims not just to secure manpower, but to select skilled workers who can be immediately deployed on actual farms.

The selection process involves both the Yeongyang County seasonal worker team and the local personnel recruitment officials from Hoa Tien Commune in Vietnam, thereby enhancing the fairness and transparency of the procedure.

In particular, candidates will first be tested for suitability for agricultural work through visual function tests, including color vision, and basic farming skill assessments. Final selections will be made after a comprehensive evaluation of work motivation, sincerity, and understanding.

The county expects that this method of direct on-site recruitment will increase farmer satisfaction and minimize problems with workers adapting to the field.

A Yeongyang County official stated, "During the peak harvest season in August, a large number of workers are needed in a short period of time. We will ensure the stable recruitment of pre-verified seasonal workers, reduce labor shortages in the agricultural sector, and build a management system that both farmers and workers can trust."

Based on a demand survey of farms wishing to hire seasonal workers this year, Yeongyang County plans to sequentially attract approximately 1,240 seasonal workers in four rounds from March until early August.

So far, about 630 workers have been deployed to agricultural sites through the first and second rounds of the MOU and the family invitation system for marriage immigrants. In June, an additional 250 workers for the third round are scheduled to arrive.

With the completion of the fourth round of selection and recruitment, the county will finish this year's entry procedures and focus administrative efforts on supporting the stable settlement and smooth farming activities of the workers until their departure in November.

As rural aging and labor shortages intensify, Yeongyang County's on-site direct selection model for seasonal workers is drawing attention as a proactive measure to enhance the sustainability of regional agriculture.

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