NongHyup Insurance (CEO Song Chun-soo) announced on the 2nd that it has launched a 'public seasonal worker comprehensive insurance' to support the stable operation of the foreign seasonal worker system in rural areas.
The foreign seasonal worker system is a program where local agricultural cooperatives hire foreigners and dispatch them to farms that need intensive labor for a certain period to alleviate manpower shortages during busy farming seasons.
The 'public seasonal worker comprehensive insurance' launched by NongHyup Insurance can be subscribed to by regional agricultural cooperatives nationwide and covers expenses related to liability for agricultural operations that may arise when hiring foreign seasonal workers, costs for early return due to disaster or illness, and losses incurred due to the declaration of a special disaster area.
The scale of foreign seasonal worker employment this year is approximately 95,700, a 41% increase compared to 67,778 last year. The labor cost for workers is about 100,000 won per day, which is up to 100,000 won cheaper than private employment agencies, receiving a positive response from farms; however, there were difficulties in business operations due to the lack of specialized insurance products.
In particular, local agricultural cooperatives must employ foreign seasonal workers under a monthly salary system to guarantee the minimum wage, but they could not recover labor costs from farms when work was suspended due to the declaration of a special disaster area. It is expected that the launch of this product will ease such expense burdens, allowing for smoother business operations.
CEO Song Chun-soo said, 'NongHyup Insurance is developing various products to solve the rural workforce supply problem,' and added, 'I hope this public seasonal worker comprehensive insurance will further activate the foreign seasonal worker system.'