Ministry of Justice building in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province / Yonhap
Facing a surge in seasonal labor demand, the Ministry of Justice has moved to clear a growing backlog of visa approvals for foreign farmworkers, seeking to avert disruptions during Korea’s critical planting season.
The ministry said it has instructed immigration offices nationwide to accelerate the issuance of certificates of visa issuance, a required step for overseas workers entering the country for short-term agricultural jobs. More than 3,700 applications remain pending, with an additional 2,000 expected by the end of April, underscoring the strain on the system as demand rises.
In a sign of mounting pressure, the ministry dispatched a two-member emergency response team to the Jeonju Immigration Office in southwestern Korea, where delays have been particularly pronounced. Officials called for expedited reviews to ease labor shortages in rural areas, where planting activity is now intensifying.
The move reflects a broader effort by the government to stabilize agricultural production, as farms grow increasingly dependent on foreign seasonal workers amid a shrinking domestic labor pool. Delays in visa processing can leave crops untended at critical moments, raising the risk of reduced yields and financial losses for farmers.
To address the bottleneck, the ministry said it will work with other agencies and local governments to deploy additional personnel to immigration offices and improve coordination across the system. Demand for seasonal worker visas has climbed sharply in recent years, driven by demographic shifts and persistent labor shortages in the countryside.
“We are taking emergency steps to ensure that seasonal worker visa processing does not delay critical farming activities,” the ministry said, adding that clearing the current backlog is an immediate priority.
Longer-term measures, officials said, will focus on strengthening administrative capacity to better handle rising application volumes.
This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.
Source: Korea Times News
