Yeongju-si Launches Full-Scale Selection of Seasonal Workers... Deployment to the Philippines

Customized Worker Matching for Farms... Advancement of the Foreign Seasonal Worker Program

Yeongju City in Gyeongbuk announced on the 16th that, based on the achievements of this year's foreign seasonal worker program, it has dispatched a seasonal worker selection team to the Philippines to advance the project to a new level.

This visit aims to enhance the credibility of the foreign seasonal worker program and create a stable production environment for local agriculture through customized worker selection for each farm and pre-departure training on site.

On the 15th, the city sent a delegation composed of the head of the Rural Workforce Team and dedicated team members to Rosales City, Philippines. This visit was carried out based on the memorandum of understanding and additional agreement signed last November between Mayor Park Nam-seo of Yeongju and Mayor William S. Cesar of Rosales.

The delegation conducts locally tailored interviews and tests considering age, gender, physique, and lifestyle based on demand surveys for each farm to select new workers suitable for Yeongju’s agricultural tasks such as ginseng, apples, and ginger.

On the 17th, to assess applicants' capability for farm work, tests such as wheelbarrow pulling, ladder climbing, and sandbag carrying will be conducted, and on the 18th, basic health examinations including physique conditions, blood pressure, and color blindness will be performed to screen out those unfit for agricultural work.

The final selected candidates will be comprehensively evaluated through individual interviews on attitude, diligence, comprehension, agricultural machinery operation skills, and Korean language proficiency to match them with the needs of the farms.

On the 19th, pre-departure training covering Korean etiquette, workers’ human rights education, and an overview of the seasonal worker program will be provided to the final selected candidates and returning diligent workers. At the same time, a meeting will be held with diligent workers recommended by farms to gather opinions and trends, strengthening trust between farms and workers.

Mayor Park Nam-seo said, “Since the establishment of the Rural Workforce Team, through the city’s full-scale response, diligent workers have now reached their 2nd to 3rd year and are able to take the lead in farming tasks. We will operate the foreign seasonal worker program more systematically so that farms can worry less about labor shortages and focus on agricultural management.”