Yeongdong County is pushing to introduce 708 foreign farmers next year... a 53.9% increase from this year.

(Yeongdong=Yonhap News) Reporter Park Byeong-gi = The Yeongdong County in North Chungcheong Province plans to introduce 708 foreign seasonal workers next year.

The county recently conducted a survey of demand from individual farms (275 locations) and, after consulting with overseas sister cities such as Dumaguete City in the Philippines and Bac Lieu Province in Vietnam, requested personnel allocation from the Ministry of Justice, it was revealed on the 26th.

This is a 53.9% increase from the 460 people who came from five countries this year, and also includes 30 public-type seasonal workers who will provide "pincer support" to farms that need daily labor by living together in one place.

An official from Yeongdong County said, "We have increased the number of seasonal workers significantly due to the high number of hopeful farms" and "Next year, we plan to diversify the countries of dispatch to include Mongolia."

Starting from the 24th of last month, Yeongdong County has been conducting employer education for farmers who have requested next year's seasonal workers.