Seongju-gun County Chief Jeon Hwa-sik. [Seongju-gun]
Seongju-gun County Chief Jeon Hwa-sik. [Seongju-gun]

Seongju-gun County Chief Jeon Hwa-sik attended the first regular meeting of the North Gyeongsang Province Mayors and County Chiefs Council of the ninth elected term, held in Andong, where he proposed an amendment to the Farmland Act to secure stable housing for foreign seasonal workers and called on related ministries to improve the relevant regulatory system, the county said Wednesday.

Speaking at the meeting, which was attended by the mayors and county chiefs of all 22 cities and counties in North Gyeongsang Province, Jeon said the share of foreign seasonal workers in Seongju-gun's agricultural labor force has risen sharply, but tightened accommodation standards for foreign workers have made it increasingly difficult to use existing mobile container-type housing, placing a growing financial burden on farming households.

He added that rural stay-type shelters — facilities that meet certain safety standards, including temporary building registration, road access requirements and fire department equipment installation — cannot currently be used as accommodation for foreign seasonal workers, pointing to a disconnect between the existing regulatory system and on-the-ground realities.

Jeon also raised concerns that if securing accommodation becomes more difficult, farming households will face higher costs, and those unable to meet the housing standards could be barred from receiving foreign seasonal worker placements — potentially worsening labor shortages during peak farming seasons and reducing farm income.

He proposed adding a proviso to Article 3-2 of the Enforcement Rules of the Farmland Act that would allow farmers who have legally hired foreign seasonal workers through the Ministry of Justice to use rural stay-type shelters as temporary accommodation for those workers during the term of their employment contracts.

Jeon also asked the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs to establish a legal basis for using rural stay-type shelters as foreign seasonal worker housing; the Ministry of Employment and Labor to include such shelters in its operational standards for foreign worker accommodation; and the Ministry of Justice to revise the relevant criteria so that rural stay-type shelters can be registered as lawful places of residence for foreign seasonal workers.

"Rather than applying uniform housing standards that ignore actual field conditions, we need a policy alternative that ensures safety while offering practical support to farming households," Jeon said. "Going forward, I will pursue active and results-driven administration — including pushing for legislative amendments — on any matter that benefits our residents."


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