A ceremony on May 2 marks the completion of a dormitory exclusively for foreign agricultural workers in Gochang-gun County, Jeollabuk-do Province. (Gochang-gun Office)

By Cao Thi Ha

Twenty dormitories exclusively for foreign agricultural workers will be built by 2026 to resolve the housing issues of such staff.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs on May 2 made this announcement and added that 1,211 local and foreign agricultural personnel will be provided through work assistance and seasonal labor.

With the first dormitory completed that day in Gochang-gun, Jeollabuk-do Province, 10 others will be built by year's end in locations such as Haenam-gun County, Jeollanam-do Province, and Cheongyang-gun County, Chungcheongnam-do Province.

Within two years, 10 more dorms will be built for such workers to bring the number to 20.

The plan is also to allow housing for farmers in agricultural development regions for use as lodging for both domestic and foreign workers. To this end, the implementation in July of an amended Enforcement Decree of the Farmland Act will raise the cap on the area for such housing from 660 square m to 1,000.

The allocation of foreign workers in agriculture this year is a record-high 61,631, or 10,000 more than last year. The number of seasonal workers is 45,631, up 28% from 35,604 last year.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Kwon Jae-han, who heads the ministry's Agricultural Innovation Policy Office, said, "We will provide farming personnel in a timely manner to prevent labor shortages during the farming season and monitor at all times on-site labor supply and cost trends to swiftly respond if problems arise."

shinn11@korea.kr