On Sep. 8, the government announced a ‘plan to improve the management system for seasonal agricultural workers’ with the goal of solving the labor shortage problem in rural areas.235) The main substance of this plan is to ease administrative procedures and employment requirements for attracting foreign seasonal workers. As the number of migrant workers engaged in agriculture seems to continue to increase in the future, interest in their treatment and working conditions is also increasing. In particular, there has been a recent interest in housing issues for the migrant agricultural workers.236) Agricultural businesses are scattered throughout different regions, and it is difficult for migrant workers to personally find accommodations because it is not easy to move within rural areas. Therefore, a common practice is for the farmhouses to provide accommodations to the migrant workers.237) However, according to the living conditions report conducted by the Ministry of Employment and Labor in 2021,238) the majority (75.1% of employees, 88.1% of workers) responded that there was accommodation in the workplace (in the farm/on farmland) in the agricultural sector. As for the type of accommodation, it was found that more than 70% (77.6% of employees, 71.4% of workers) of non-residential accommodations, such as prefabricated panels, containers, and facilities in vinyl houses rather than residential accommodations, such as houses, officetels, and lodging facilities (motels). Such housing types can cause problems in several aspects. According to consultations with migrant agricultural workers from Cambodia conducted by a civic group ‘Migration Labor 119’ for a year, there were cases of excessive deduction of wages in the name of dormitory expenses, and poor accommodation conditions, such as vinyl houses and temporary buildings being flooded, snakes and leeches entering the living quarters, and structural problems of not having ceilings or doors in the bathrooms. Poor housing conditions can be particularly vulnerable to sexual violence and illegal filming.239) 235) Office of Government Policy Coordination Press Release, Sep. 7, 2022. 236) Regarding the human rights issues of migrant workers in the agricultural sector, the issues requiring discussions and resolution are health insurance application, forced labor in the form of human trafficking when brokers or employers confiscate passports, wage arrears, discrimination and hatred, etc., in addition to the housing issues. 237) Um, Jin-yeong, Employment Status and Policy Tasks Related to Foreign Workers in Agricultural Sector, Roundtable Discussion at the National Assembly Legislative Research Service, “Employment Status and Challenges of Foreign Workers in Rural Areas,” Nov. 2019. 238) Ministry of Employment and Labor Survey, Survey of the Living Conditions of Foreign Workers Under Work Permit System and Plans on Improving the Laws and the System, Dec. 2021. 95

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