South Korea to extend foreign workers’ stay permits to cope with a seasonal labor shortage amid pandemic

Last updated on March 1st, 2023 at 07:28 am

South Korea will try to extend stay permits for foreign workers that are stranded in the nation due to the coronavirus pandemic, in an offer to help the lack of seasonal workers in agriculture and various other sectors, the government agency stated on Wednesday. 

The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters said that they will discuss with the ministers about permitting migrant laborers whose stay permit has lapsed and engaged them in seasonal agricultural work amid the Covid-19 crisis.

PM Chung Sye-Kyun stated that the administration is intending to extend the stay for migrant workers and briefly permit them to help work on farmlands. 

The Korean government had earlier allowed workers to extend their stay for a maximum of 50 days as they were stranded due to flight restrictions.

The statement came after the anti-disaster headquarters talked about the issue during its general meetings with the PM Chung Sye-Kyun. 

During the meeting, Chung stated, South Korea likewise plans to enhance quarantine protocols on sailors arriving from Russia and various other nations that are on Seoul’s rundown of countries subject to isolate. The sailors will need to submit a medical fitness certificate when docking the South Korean soil, he added.

Article Credit: Korea Times/ The Korea Herald

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