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Korea expands seasonal foreign workforce to 109,100 for next year
Seasonal foreign workers engage in the harvesting of minari in Busan's Gijang County, Dec. 15. Yonhap
By Ko Dong-hwan
The government has expanded next year's quota of seasonal foreign workers for the agricultural, fishery and forestry industries to a record 109,100, up 14.1 percent from last year's 96,000, in a bid to ease labor shortages.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, together with the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, said Wednesday that the workers will be deployed in 142 cities and counties nationwide.
Of the total, around 87,000 will be assigned to 27,200 agricultural farms, while 6,700 will work at 1,600 fishery farms across the country.
The authorities will also hire an additional 5,400 workers for state-run public services. These daily workers will be dispatched to the agricultural, fishery and forestry sectors by national cooperative federations such as NongHyup and Suhyup.
An additional 10,000 workers will be hired to support government pilot projects and emergency needs, according to the authorities.
The government added that it will hire additional workers in June if demand increases.
South Jeolla Province will receive the largest number of foreign workers, with 21,094 assigned, including around 15,000 to agricultural farms and 5,900 to fishery operations. South Chungcheong Province follows with 14,298 workers, of whom 13,700 will work in agriculture.
North Gyeongsang Province will receive 13,796 workers, all of whom will be assigned to agricultural farms. Gangwon Province will be allocated more than 10,446 workers for agriculture, while North Jeolla Province will receive 11,938, also all in the agricultural sector.
This year, the government invited a total of 95,596 foreign workers, including 3,117 for state-run tasks. As of November, 80,617 had entered the country, accounting for 84.3 percent of the total quota. Of those who arrived, 395, or 0.5 percent, later quit.
The government said the expanded invitation for next year is expected to provide critical support in easing labor shortages at regional farms nationwide.