Haenam-gun, Foreign Seasonal Workers Boost Rural Labor Shortage

Seasonal Workers Arrive One After Another, Positive Response to Relatives Invitation Program

The foreign seasonal worker program in Haenam-gun, Jeollanam-do is providing significant help in securing rural labor during the busy farming season.

According to the county on the 25th, this year the overseas seasonal worker program has been expanded, and 266 foreign seasonal workers in the agricultural sector were allocated by the Ministry of Justice. So far, 93 foreign seasonal workers have been recruited.

Last month, seasonal workers from the Philippines arrived.
[Photo by Haenam-gun]

By September, in line with the farming season, 141 foreign seasonal workers are expected to be sequentially assigned to farms.

The foreign seasonal worker program is a system that allows the legal employment of foreigners for a short period (up to 5 months) to address the shortage of rural labor.

Haenam-gun has been allocated 266 seasonal workers in the agricultural sector and 130 in the fisheries sector this year, securing more than twice the number compared to last year.

In particular, for the first time this year, a program inviting families and relatives of marriage immigrants has been implemented, which not only helps solve the labor shortage on farms but also promotes the stable settlement of multicultural families, receiving great response from the local community. The seasonal workers entering the country are family members and relatives within the fourth degree of kinship residing in the home countries of marriage immigrants in Haenam-gun.

Currently, 21 foreign seasonal workers who are family members or relatives of 13 marriage immigrants are working on farms, and 63 workers from 34 farms are awaiting visa screening for entry.

Starting from mid-May, the county plans to promote rural labor assistance involving residents, related organizations, groups, and public officials, and will implement multifaceted support for farms with labor shortages, such as those run by elderly farmers.

A county official stated, “We will prepare measures to resolve labor shortages caused by rural population decline and aging,” and urged, “We ask related organizations to actively participate in labor assistance.”