Korea needs a lot of foreign workers

Channel News Asia reported that although South Korea plans to accept 110,000 foreign workers in farms and factories in 2023, some businesses believe the country needs more than that.

These fields are suffering from a labor shortage because young Koreans do not want to do jobs that are judged to be dirty and dangerous.

A recent survey conducted by the Korean Business Association found that regarding 40% of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) surveyed assessed that the government did not properly appreciate the size of the problem, 110,000 foreign workers during the year. Now is not enough to fill the shortfall.

According to observers, without foreign workers, some Korean farms and factories would be empty.

The demand for foreign workers is huge

Kim Jang-yeon – owner of a greenhouse farm in Pocheon regarding 41 kilometers northeast of Seoul – said his facility is in dire need of foreign workers.

“We need a lot of foreign workers. During the busy farming season I also hire domestic workers, but they only make up regarding 20% of the total labor on the farm. The remaining 80% are foreign workers who produce agricultural products themselves,” Kim said.

A Cambodian laborer who has worked on Kim’s farm for seven years can send home regarding $1,000 a month thanks to his current job: “There are seven people in my family. I like it here. My room is nice and the boss is nice too.”

How to treat foreign workers?

As Korea becomes increasingly dependent on foreign workers, the way the country treats this workforce is also getting more attention.

Many units have started to build new housing areas for foreign workers because the Korean government decided not to issue work permits for the case of forcing foreign workers to stay in temporary places inside the greenhouse.

The above decision was made following a 31-year-old Cambodian worker froze to death in such a makeshift accommodation in Pocheon in 2020.

Farm owner Kim took the initiative to build better housing for his workers four years ago when the government made it mandatory: “I decided to build because I thought it should provide good facilities. than for foreign workers”.

Pastor Kim Dal-sung – who runs the Pocheon Migrant Workers Center – said that despite the government’s efforts to improve, the living conditions of foreign workers are still difficult.

“This is an area where the temperature drops to minus 15 to 20 degrees Celsius in the winter. It is difficult for workers from Southeast Asia where it is hot all year round,” said Pastor Kim. His team visits workers at least twice a week and regularly calls to help them when needed.