Two more Filipino caregivers leave Korea as pilot program’s future remains unclear
Filipino caregivers participating in the foreign domestic worker pilot program arrive at Incheon International Airport, Aug. 6, 2024. Yonhap
Two more Filipino caregivers participating in Korea’s foreign domestic worker pilot program have returned home due to personal reasons, raising fresh concerns over the sustainability of the project.
The departures come as the number of workers continues to dwindle and government disagreements prevent new hires. According to officials on Thursday, the two workers left voluntarily after notifying their management agency in advance.
Unlike past cases of unapproved absences, the departures were due to personal matters such as marriage and family care needs.
Despite steadily rising demand and about 500 households currently on the waitlist, the program is experiencing service disruptions due to workforce shortages.
The program, which launched with 100 workers in September last year, saw the number drop to 89 by March due to unapproved absences and voluntary departures.
Families using the service bear the brunt of the losses. Even after employment contracts are signed, there is no legal mechanism to prevent a worker from quitting mid-contract.
If a replacement cannot be arranged, households are moved back to the waitlist. A Ministry of Employment and Labor official said, “When a domestic worker leaves, we reassign the household to another worker if possible, or shift them to the waiting list.”
A more pressing issue is the inability to replenish the workforce. The Seoul Metropolitan Government is pushing to expand the program and officially transition it into a permanent system.
However, the Ministry of Employment and Labor — the central authority overseeing the project — has been reluctant to approve expansion or nationwide rollout.
The absence of a labor minister and the recent change in presidential administration have also stalled key discussions on the program’s future.
“The major hurdle is finding a way to reduce costs, and without a viable solution, turning this into a full-scale program is difficult,” a labor ministry official said. “There has been no concrete discussion about what comes next after the pilot.”
The hourly wage for domestic workers, initially set at 13,940 won (including social insurance), was raised to 16,800 won when the program was extended in March. Households using the service for 40 hours a week now pay a monthly salary of 2.92 million won (about $2,100).
Some have labeled the program a policy failure. During a regular session of the Seoul Metropolitan Council on Thursday, council member Ai Su Luu said, “We must acknowledge that the pilot program, which began with good intentions, has failed and should be withdrawn.”
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon responded, “As a first-of-its-kind program, there were rough patches, but we found that about 95 percent of service users and over 70 percent of workers were satisfied. With adjustments and improvements, these issues can be overcome.”
This article from the Hankook Ilbo, a sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.