SHORTAGE OF FOREIGN WORKERS IN FARMS

[Anchor Lead]

Worker shortages in farming areas are severe these days, as migrant workers can no longer come to Korea due to the pandemic. A growing number of farms are closing because they can’t find workers.

[Pkg]

​This lettuce farmer decided to wrap up his farming business this year. He used to generate sales of 200 million won a year by raising lettuce in 15 greenhouses. But this year he couldn’t find workers to help with sowing and harvesting.

[Soundbite] Kim Hyung-soo(Lettuce farmer) : "I rent these greenhouses. I have no money to pay the rent. My losses are snowballing."

The situation is just as dire at other farms. Some plowed the field but couldn't sow anything. That’s because migrant workers can no longer come to Korea due to the pandemic. The government allocated some 5300 seasonal migrant workers in the first half of the year at the request of local governments to help alleviate worker shortages. But only 7.9 percent of them arrived in the nation as COVID-19 has spread worldwide. Migrant workers from the countries where coronavirus cases have been surging since last month are denied entry to Korea. Meanwhile, labor costs keep rising. Farmers can't find help even when they offer to pay 120,000 won a day.

[Soundbite] Kwon Byung-seok(Nonsan Neulcham Agricultural Association Corporation) : "To solve worker shortages, we need to let migrant workers in, or else farming areas will collapse."

Unable to find workers, farmers are increasingly pushed to the brink.