Revised family-sponsorship rules and stricter regional vetting take effect in 2026

Farmers, both local and migrant workers, are harvesting turnip in Gangneung city, Gangwon Province, on Monday. (Yonhap)
Farmers, both local and migrant workers, are harvesting turnip in Gangneung city, Gangwon Province, on Monday. (Yonhap)

South Korea will boost next year's seasonal worker quota by 14 percent to a record 109,100, the government said Wednesday, marking its largest expansion yet to support farming and fishery industries struggling with labor shortages.

This includes 94,100 foreign seasonal workers to be hired by about 28,000 employers under local government authority, along with a flexible reserve of 15,000.

The Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries jointly agreed on the quota, saying the Seasonal Worker Program was essential to easing periodic labor shortages.

The Seasonal Worker Program allows foreign workers to be hired for short periods during peak farming and fishing seasons. Current rules cap hiring at five workers per household and nine per employer, while immigrants by marriage may invite up to 10 family members — a reduction from 20 starting in 2026.

A pan-government consulting body will decide upon the exact allotment of seasonal workers by local government, based on the assessment of factors like management capacity and preventive measures against human rights violations.

Exactly how many workers allocated each in the first and second half will be announced in the government's biannual decision, conventionally announced before spring and fall.

Next year's quota marks the highest-ever number for foreign seasonal workers, overtaking the E-9 visa quota for longer-term manual laborers, which the government has halved over two years, citing lack of demand.

The government has been rolling out measures to induceimmmigration, both on the regional and state level. An October report showed that 2.58 million people with migrant backgrounds, including children of international marriages, were living in Korea as of November 2024.

This is around 5 percent of the country's 51.8 million population at the time, and marks the highest number of foreigners in the country since the government started tally in 2006.


minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com