Gokseong-gun Conducts Interviews for 'Foreign Seasonal Workers' in Laos

Scheduled Arrival of Public Seasonal Workers in February This Year

Gokseong-gun, Jeollanam-do conducted local interviews in Muang Thapabat District, Laos, to select foreign seasonal workers.

The interviews were carried out through a delegation dispatched by Gokseong-gun and Gokseong Nonghyup, and they thoroughly reviewed the entire process of recruiting, selecting, and training workers.

[Photo by Gokseong-gun]

Through the public-type seasonal worker program implemented for the first time this year, 30 foreign seasonal workers from Muang Thapabat District, Laos, were selected.

They are scheduled to work at farms within Gokseong-gun for the next five months.

During the interview process, candidates were evaluated based on their age, marital status, dependents, agricultural experience, and health condition, using their existing resumes as reference.

The focus was on selecting individuals suitable for farm work.

The selected workers will receive visa application assistance, agricultural work training, Korean language education, and prior instruction on penalties for unauthorized departure. They will enter Korea sequentially starting from mid-February to participate in farm work.

Gokseong-gun and Gokseong Nonghyup held discussions with the Director of Employment at the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare of Laos to coordinate the types of workers needed by farms, entry schedules, and measures to prevent unauthorized departure.

Additionally, this year, the county received approval from the Ministry of Justice for 30 out of a total of 119 seasonal workers as public-type seasonal workers, planning to allocate manpower to farms cultivating strawberries, melons, and other crops to address labor shortages during the busy farming season.

A Gokseong-gun official stated, "To help the selected seasonal workers quickly adapt to Korea, we plan to dispatch dedicated Lao personnel who can speak Korean in the early stages in cooperation with the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare of Laos, and we will do our best to protect the human rights and welfare of the seasonal workers."

Gokseong = Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Cha Jongseon hss79@asiae.co.kr