Uiseong-gun Teams Up with Laos to Expand Options for Easing Rural Labor Shortages

Expanded Seasonal Worker Recruitment to Four Countries
Strengthening the Foundation for a Stable Labor Supply
728 Workers Allocated This Year to Minimize Labor Gaps During the Busy Farming Season
Building a Worker Management System

Uiseong-gun in Gyeongsangbuk-do is expanding the countries from which it recruits foreign seasonal workers to address labor shortages during the busy farming season caused by an aging rural population and declining population, and to secure a stable agricultural workforce.

A commemorative photo after the signing of an MOU on foreign seasonal workers from Laos in Uiseong County [Photo provided by Uiseong County]

The county said on October 15 that it had signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Laos' Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare in Vientiane, Laos, on October 14 to recruit foreign seasonal workers.

The agreement was pursued to address structural labor shortages in rural areas and ease the farming burden on local farms by ensuring a stable supply of foreign seasonal workers and managing the program systematically.

The agreement covers the overall operation of the foreign seasonal worker program, including the obligations of both organizations, worker selection and dispatch procedures, working conditions, and responsibilities for implementing and managing the agreement.

In particular, the two sides agreed to clarify responsibility for managing every stage, from worker selection through arrival, employment, and return, and to strengthen management systems to prevent illegal stays and protect workers' human rights.

Through this agreement, Uiseong-gun will expand its seasonal worker recruitment system, which has previously focused on Cambodia, Vietnam, and the Philippines, to include Laos.

This will diversify the risks of fluctuations caused by administrative conditions or labor supply in any one country and establish a supply system that can respond flexibly to labor demand during the busy farming season.

The number of foreign seasonal workers recruited has also continued to rise.

Uiseong-gun started with 90 workers in 2022 and gradually increased the number, recruiting 547 workers last year. This year, the Ministry of Justice allocated a total of 728 workers to the county.

The county plans to strengthen cooperation with sending countries, improve the transparency of worker selection and the effectiveness of on-site management, and ensure a stable labor supply for farms.

Uiseong-gun Mayor Choi Yucheol said, "I expect this agreement to provide a foundation for stable farming for farms struggling to secure workers because of the aging rural population and declining population. We will establish a sustainable agricultural workforce support system by diversifying sending countries, preparing thoroughly in advance, and implementing a transparent management system."

Rural workforce policy: stable operations matter as much as securing workers. As rural labor shortages have become a structural problem, the importance of the foreign seasonal worker program is also growing. The agreement with Laos is significant not simply because it expands the number of countries from which workers are recruited, but because it is a response aimed at reducing uncertainty in the supply of agricultural labor.

However, the program's effectiveness depends less on the number of workers recruited than on their timely placement, management of working conditions, and the maintenance of stable employment relationships between farms and workers. A sustainable rural workforce policy requires an on-site management system alongside a diversified supply chain.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.