ExclusiveBuyeo county seeks reprieve for unregistered migrants to ease labor shortage

Seasonal workers from Vietnam pose with county government officials in Buyeo, South Chungcheong Province. Courtesy of Buyeo county office

The county government of Buyeo, South Chungcheong Province, with a population of 59,000, are preparing a proposal to urge the central government to allow undocumented migrants to remain in Korea under specific restrictions in order to address labor shortages, according to a high-ranking official familiar with the matter.

The county office plans to raise the issue at the next meeting of the National Association of Mayors in Korea, an organization of local government leaders, before formally submitting a more detailed policy proposal to the Ministry of Justice, according to the official.

“The point is to permit undocumented foreign nationals to stay and work here if they meet certain conditions,” the official told The Korea Times recently. “Without them, the labor shortage situation would be much worse.”

One thing the county office plans to propose is the introduction of a self-reporting system, whereby immigration officers will not detain or deport undocumented migrants who provide information voluntarily about where they live and work.

This proposal comes two weeks after Park Jung-hyun, head of Buyeo County, called for a “more flexible approach” to handling the issue of migrant workers staying here unlawfully.

“While strict immigration enforcement is necessary, a fundamental government solution to the problem of undocumented workers is needed to reflect the reality of the situation,” Park said at a meeting with county officials on April 14.

Park said the central government should consider various policy options, including whether providing a legal path for undocumented migrant workers to stay would be more effective, as the current crackdown-focused approach has failed to address the labor shortage and other issues facing the country.

The idea of offering an official path for undocumented migrant workers to stay in Korea has been advocated by some human rights activists. However, Park is the first known elected official to publicly support it.

Many farmers in Buyeo have long struggled to find workers, and their reliance on migrant labor has grown in recent years. Currently, more than half of the foreign workers employed at the county's farms during peak crop season are believed to lack valid work visas, according to a county official.

That’s a serious matter for a county where nearly 40 percent of residents work in agriculture for a living. The situation is predicted to worsen as the population continues to decline.

According to the county office, the number of residents in Buyeo dropped below 60,000 in September 2024 ― only nine and a half years after the figure fell below the 70,000 mark.

With Korea’s birthrate remaining persistently low, ongoing local labor shortages are expected to become more urgent. Buyeo is hardly alone, with similar population pressures persisting across the country.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Justice, which oversees the nation’s immigration policies, has consistently moved to deport people who overstay their visas.

Under the former Yoon Suk Yeol administration, crackdowns on undocumented migrants intensified. The number of undocumented foreigners decreased to 395,000 in 2024, down from more than 420,000 the previous year, according to ministry data.

The ministry, along with four other government departments and agencies, launched a joint crackdown on undocumented migrants on April 14, which will continue through June 29.