The government announced on the 27th that it has decided to allocate an additional 22,731 foreign seasonal workers in the second half of the year.
On the 24th, the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, and Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries held a 'Foreign Seasonal Worker Allocation Consultative Council' to review the demand for foreign seasonal workers in the second half of the year.
This allocation consultation council focused on the allocation for agricultural and fishing households in need of additional manpower beyond the number allotted in the first half of the year. A total of 22,731 workers was decided to be allocated to 100 local governments nationwide.
The total allocation for 2025, including the additional allocations in the second half of the year, amounts to 95,700 workers, a 41% increase from the previous year.
By industry, the allocation includes 86,633 for agriculture and 8,796 for fisheries.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs has made it possible to operate public seasonal labor projects as local government projects with approval from the ministry starting from the second half of this year. The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries will support seaweed and oyster farming households by initiating a public seasonal labor project for the first time in Haenam County.
A government official noted, 'The additional allocation of foreign seasonal workers in the second half of the year is expected to help alleviate the labor shortage in rural and fishing areas,' and added, 'We will continue to actively identify improvements tailored to field characteristics.'