Samcheok City Launches Province's First Housing Stability Support for Foreign Fishing Crew

First Institutionalization of Local Government Policy
Leading the Solution to Labor Shortages in Fishing Villages
with Tailored Housing Support for the Field

Samcheok City in Gangwon Province is implementing a foreign fishing crew housing stability support program for the first time in Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province, taking the lead in providing a policy solution to alleviate labor shortages in fishing villages.

Samcheok City Hall exterior view.

This initiative is the first institutional support at the local government level in the province to address the housing issues of foreign fishing crew, reflecting the ongoing increase in the employment of foreign workers in the fishing industry. The program aims to ease the management burden on fishermen and create a stable working environment.

The support is available to local fishermen who employ foreign fishing crew, providing partial assistance with the rent of accommodations actually occupied by foreign workers. The program covers up to 50% of the actual rent paid, with a ceiling set at 70% of the standard rent based on the minimum guarantee level for two persons under the Housing Benefit Act, to prevent excessive support and ensure fairness and rationality.

In particular, this program is expected to deliver tangible policy effects beyond simple welfare support, such as stabilizing the housing of foreign fishing crew, preventing job turnover and unauthorized departures, minimizing workforce gaps in the fishing industry, and enhancing the sustainability of the local fisheries sector.

A city official stated, "Foreign fishing crew are already a core workforce sustaining the local fisheries industry. This housing stability support program is the first institutional initiative in the province designed by a local government to directly address challenges in fishing communities, and it will provide a foundation for fishermen and foreign crew to coexist stably."