The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said on the 19th it will shift rural labor supply from private job placement to a government-local government management system and raise the public supply share to 60% by 2030.
The Agriculture Ministry on the 19th announced the first basic plan to support agricultural employment (2026-2030). The plan is the first legally mandated mid- to long-term measure established under the Special Act on Support for Agricultural and Fishery Employment, which took effect in 2024.
Until now, government policy had been criticized for stopping at short-term supply adjustments, such as expanding foreign seasonal workers during peak farming periods. As a result, labor intake wavered with changes in diplomatic and immigration conditions, and delays in wage payments, safety accidents, and human rights issues kept recurring.
The government will expand "public seasonal work," under which local governments or public institutions directly hire seasonal workers and dispatch them to farms, from about 3,000 last year to 6,000 in 2030. The number of foreign seasonal workers allocated for the first half of this year is 92,104, the largest ever.
In addition, it plans to raise the share of domestic workers to at least 40% by expanding support for transportation and lodging costs, while also protecting workers by mandating wage payment guarantee insurance and strengthening safety training.
An Agriculture Ministry official said, "If rural labor policy had stayed focused on short-term supply adjustments, the core of this basic plan is a shift to a structure in which the public sector takes responsibility for labor supply and management," adding, "We will establish a standing labor management system that underpins the sustainability of agriculture."