Stable Recruitment and Management of Legal Foreign Seasonal Workers
Establishing a Settlement Environment Through Construction of Agricultural Worker Dormitories
Yeongju City in Gyeongbuk announced on the 11th that, by prioritizing the resolution of rural labor shortages and taking proactive measures, the supply and demand of agricultural labor on-site is stabilizing.
In particular, direct cooperation with overseas local governments, operation of regional labor brokerage centers, and promotion of agricultural worker dormitory construction have achieved tangible results, establishing a new model for solving agricultural labor issues.
Yeongju City signed direct agreements with overseas local governments and introduced foreign seasonal workers without private brokers, establishing a stable rural labor supply system. The number of foreign seasonal workers introduced increased from 108 in 2022 to 331 in 2023 and 423 in 2024. Cases of unauthorized absences among farm-based seasonal workers, which reached 36 in 2022, dropped to 1 in 2023 and none in 2024. This is evaluated as the result of completely blocking illegal broker involvement and introducing a trust-based labor matching system.
The city signed agreements with overseas local governments and adopted a customized method of selecting seasonal workers directly on-site and matching them to farms. Through this, trust between farms and workers was built, laying the foundation for long-term farming partnerships. This innovative labor management policy was selected as an excellent case at the 2024 Gyeongsangbuk-do Local Finance Presentation Contest and received an award. It was especially highly praised for fundamentally preventing wage exploitation and human rights violations through illegal brokers and establishing a public-led transparent labor management model.
Additionally, Yeongju operates ‘Regional Rural Labor Brokerage Centers’ in the northern, central, and southern areas to resolve regional labor supply imbalances. This system allows farms to quickly receive farming labor brokerage through nearby agricultural cooperatives.
Currently, Yeongju Nonghyup (domestic workers), Anjeong Nonghyup (foreign workers), and Punggi Nonghyup (domestic workers) are in charge of operations, building a more systematic labor supply network. Especially, the ‘Anjeong Nonghyup Public Seasonal Worker Brokerage Center,’ promoted as a key project last year, supplied foreign workers on a daily basis to farms needing short-term labor, receiving great response. As a result, it achieved more than double the performance compared to 2023, brokering 17,910 domestic and foreign farming workers to 2,962 farms over the year. This has greatly contributed to stabilizing local agricultural labor supply and reducing labor cost burdens for farms.
By promoting the construction of agricultural worker dormitories, a stable settlement base for workers has also been established. Yeongju City was selected for the ‘Agricultural Worker Dormitory Construction National Subsidy Project’ and is actively advancing the project to ensure stable settlement of agricultural workers.
From 2025 to 2027, a total project cost of approximately 8 billion KRW, including 2.4 billion KRW in confirmed project funds, will be invested to build dormitories in Ajidong, Yeongju City. Once completed, the dormitories are expected to provide stable housing for domestic and foreign agricultural workers and contribute to maximizing work efficiency.
Yeongju City is also pursuing a ‘Settlement-type Agricultural Worker Development Strategy’ to respond to rural population decline and labor outflow. Plans are being made to grant long-term stay qualifications to foreign seasonal workers, and active consideration is being given to utilizing region-specific and metropolitan visas promoted by Gyeongsangbuk-do. These policies are expected to contribute to securing and settling sustainable labor forces in rural areas beyond simple labor supply.
The city plans to further strengthen sustainable agricultural labor policies with the goal of realizing a ‘Farming Environment Without Labor Shortages’ by 2025. It aims to expand innovative labor support policies and provide stable jobs and housing environments to domestic and foreign agricultural workers, laying the foundation to leap forward as a ‘Future Agriculture Hub.’
Mayor Park Nam-seo said, “Yeongju City has established a stable rural labor supply system and devoted all efforts to improving working conditions. We will continue to promote sustainable agricultural labor policies to realize a farming environment without labor shortages and grow into a future agriculture hub.”
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