[Changes in the Second Half of the Year] Worker Accommodations and Heatwave/Cold Wave Shelters to Be Allowed in Agricultural Promotion Areas

Changes in the Agricultural, Fisheries, and Food Sectors Starting in the Second Half of 2025

It will now be possible to install worker accommodations and shelters for heatwaves and cold waves in 'Agricultural Promotion Areas,' which are classified as absolute farmland and have been restricted to agricultural use only. This change comes as the system has been revised to allow farmers to engage in safe farming activities in preparation for natural disasters such as heatwaves and cold waves.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance published a booklet titled "These Are the Changes Starting in the Second Half of 2025" on July 1.

According to the booklet, worker accommodations and shelters for heatwaves and cold waves, which previously could not be installed in Agricultural Promotion Areas, will now be permitted. Worker accommodations can be installed on up to 20% of the land area designated for agricultural and fisheries product processing or handling facilities, or for distribution centers. In addition, restrictions on the installation area for agricultural and fisheries product processing facilities, tourist farms, and rural experience and recreation villages will be relaxed.

◆ Vertical farms now allowed in National Food Cluster = With improvements to regulations regarding vertical farms, it will be possible for vertical farms to be established in the National Food Cluster starting in the second half of 2025. Vertical farms are facilities where plants are cultivated in multiple stacked layers inside a building, and now there is a legal basis for them to be located within industrial complexes.

As a result of regulatory improvements led by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and in collaboration with related agencies, vertical farms have been allowed to move into the National Food Cluster, which is the only national industrial complex in Korea specializing in food. The government expects that linking food companies with vertical farms will enable a stable supply of high-quality and functional raw materials, improve logistics efficiency, and promote convergence with advanced technologies, thereby creating synergy between agriculture and the food industry and advancing the food sector.

◆ Expanded delegation of farmland conversion authority for specialized rural districts = Specialized rural districts will be added to the regions and zones?such as public housing districts and urban development zones?where farmland conversion authority is delegated to local governments. This improvement allows the authority to convert farmland to be delegated to the heads of local governments, regardless of the area size of specialized rural districts designated in consultation with the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. The government expects that expanding the autonomy of local governments to convert farmland for necessary facilities and locations within specialized rural districts will help address population decline and revitalize local areas.

◆ Animal medical fees must be posted inside veterinary clinics = Currently, veterinary clinics are required to post the fees for 20 types of services, including initial and follow-up consultations, hospitalization, and vaccinations, either inside the clinic or on their website. However, if fees are posted only on the website, it can be difficult for elderly people and others who are not comfortable with digital devices to check the costs in advance. If fees are posted only inside the clinic, clients must visit the clinic in person to find out the costs, which is inconvenient. To address public inconvenience, the new rule requires that animal medical fees be posted inside the clinic as a principle, and, if the clinic operates a website, the fees must also be posted there.

◆ Job scope for foreign workers in the restaurant industry expanded from kitchen assistants to hall serving = The scope of duties for foreign workers employed under the restaurant industry employment permit system, which currently allows only kitchen assistant roles, will be expanded to include hall serving. This change will apply from the third round of new employment permit applications and registrations in 2025 (July 7?18), and can also be retroactively applied to existing workplaces by amending the employment contract.