Changwon Special City, Foreign Seasonal Worker Program Application and Registration

The Agricultural Technology Center of Changwon Special City, Gyeongnam, is recruiting participants for the '2023 Second Half Foreign Seasonal Worker Program' until May 3rd to prepare for labor shortages during the farming season.

The Foreign Seasonal Worker Program is a project that allows the legal employment of foreigners for a short period of 3 to 5 months during sowing and harvesting seasons. It invites relatives within the fourth degree of kinship residing in the home country of marriage immigrants to work on farms facing labor shortages in rural areas. Since the first half of this year, the city has been attracting seasonal workers, and currently, 15 workers are employed at 10 farms.

Changwon Special City Hall, Gyeongnam.
Photo by Lee Seryeong

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Farms employing foreign seasonal workers can receive support from Changwon City for workers' industrial accident insurance, foreigner registration fees, and drug test costs. Employers must pay wages above the 2023 minimum wage (monthly salary of 2,010,580 KRW, hourly wage of 9,620 KRW) and provide accommodations equipped with heating and cooling facilities and hot water.

Eligible employers are registered agricultural operators who can apply for up to nine workers depending on the cultivated area and crops. Foreign seasonal workers can be recommended and applied for by marriage immigrants residing in Changwon City who have family members living in their home country. Both employers and seasonal workers can apply at their local administrative welfare centers.

Kim Jonghaek, Director of the Agricultural Technology Center, said, "We hope foreign seasonal workers will be a great help to farmers struggling with labor shortages during the busy farming season," and added, "We will continue to pay close attention to labor issues in rural areas."

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