“Regional Deployment Starting in March... Resolving Labor Shortages”
Gokseong County selected 60 public foreign seasonal workers for 2025 through interviews held locally in Laos from the 3rd to the 5th to alleviate the rural labor shortage. Photo by Gokseong County
Gokseong County, South Jeolla Province (Governor Cho Sangrae), announced on the 10th that it selected 60 public foreign seasonal workers for 2025 through on-site interviews in Laos from the 3rd to the 5th, in order to address the rural labor shortage caused by low birth rates and an aging population.
According to the county, after signing an MOU with Muang Thaphabat in Laos in September 2023 and bringing in 30 foreign seasonal workers last year to support 187 farms, the satisfaction rate among farmers was high at 96%.
Accordingly, this year the program will be expanded to three local agricultural cooperatives. From March, Gokseong and Okgwa Agricultural Cooperatives will provide foreign seasonal workers to farms, and from May, Seokgok Agricultural Cooperative will do the same for a period of five months.
This recent on-site interview, conducted with the cooperation of the Lao Ministry of Labor and Thaphabat District, recruited applicants and selected the final 60 workers through document screening and physical examinations, assessing basic personal information, family relations, health status, agricultural work experience, and basic physical fitness. The selected foreign seasonal workers will receive training before entering Korea on basic Korean language, farm work, Korean culture and dietary habits, and disadvantages of unauthorized departure.
After arrival, they will undergo pre-employment training on work regulations, prevention of infectious diseases, and prevention of human rights violations. Once they complete necessary procedures such as foreigner registration, they will be supported to focus on farm work.
A county official stated, "We will strive to resolve the rural labor shortage during the busy farming season through foreign seasonal workers and help farms engage in agriculture stably. In addition, to address concerns about human rights violations raised nationwide during the expansion of the foreign seasonal worker program, we will do our best to protect the rights and welfare of foreign workers through farm education and verification of human rights practices."
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