Seasonal Foreign Worker Program Expanded to Include Oyster Harvesting

The Jeollanam-do Province announced that with the Ministry of Justice's Foreign Seasonal Worker Program Basic Plan revised on June 24, 2025, oyster offshore harvesting, which was previously excluded from permitted and applicable industries in the fisheries sector, is now included, raising expectations for resolving manpower shortages in aquaculture. The Ministry of Justice's Foreign Seasonal Worker Program Basic Plan stipulates procedures for activating and operating the "overseas entry seasonal worker system" to address short-term labor shortages in agricultural and fishing villages during planting and harvesting seasons. Jeollanam-do is the second-largest oyster production region in the country over the past decade.

Jeollanam-do Proposes Basic Plan Revision to Resolve Workforce Shortage in Aquaculture Jeollanam-do announced that the Ministry of Justice's Foreign Seasonal Worker Program Basic Plan was revised on June 24, 2025, now including oyster offshore harvesting, which was previously excluded from permitted and applicable industries, raising expectations for resolving workforce shortages in aquaculture. The Ministry of Justice's Foreign Seasonal Worker Program Basic Plan regulates procedures to activate and operate the "overseas entry seasonal worker system" to address labor shortages in agricultural and fishing villages during short seasonal periods such as planting and harvesting seasons. Jeollanam-do, the second-largest oyster production region in the country, has seen production stagnate around 300,000 tons over the past decade, despite rapid growth more than doubling production. However, workforce shortages due to declining and aging fishing populations have constrained management ...