Illustrative image. VNA/VNS Photo

 SEOUL - An agricultural cooperative of Gangjin district in South Jeolla province of the Republic of Korea (RoK) is hiring 20 Vietnamese workers under a five-month contract starting from April 22 to harvest onions and garlic.

This part of a model to hire seasonal migratory agricultural labourers to cope with severe shortages of labourer in rural areas, which has been piloting in the province. 

The project is implemented in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, aiming to support localities facing difficulties in hiring labourers for working in rural areas.

Accordingly, cooperatives are hiring foreign labourers and provide manpower to small farms which cannot hire laborers directly.

To implement the project, in 2023, the Gangjin administration directly signed a cooperation agreement on providing seasonal labourers with Phụng Hiệp District in the Mekong Delta province of Hậu Giang.

According to Yoon Jae-seon, Director of the Gangjin agricultural cooperative, the signing of contracts by cooperatives will help ensure legal and safety conditions for guest workers when they work in the RoK.

Local authorities are also striving to ensure that foreign workers can integrate and have stable living conditions, he added.

The South Jeolla administration reported that the number of foreign labourers working under  the locality's seasonal work system has reached 3,846. Operating since 2017, the system has proven effective in addressing labourer shortages in rural areas. VNS