State-run nanny service poor at screening applicants

Gender Equality and Family Minister Jin Sun-mee holds a child abuse prevention meeting at the Healthy Family Support Center in Seoul, Wednesday. / Courtesy of Ministry of Gender Equality and Family

By Kim Hyun-bin

The recent case of child abuse by a babysitter has shown the lax screening process in the government-run babysitting service from hiring, to education and evaluation.

The program, launched in 2012 by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, is aimed at providing babysitting services for children aged between three months and 12 years old to aid working parents or others in need of babysitting help. The government covers part of the service fees for low-income families.

According to the website, anyone in good health can apply for a nanny job as long as they are not underage, suffering from a psychiatric disorder, a convicted sex offender or drug user.

They are selected through a resume review and interview. In the first part of the process, the authorities evaluate the applicants' prior childcare and volunteer experience, character, academic background, health and relevant certificates. Those who pass the review go through a 15-minute interview. With only those two stages, it is almost impossible for the authorities to screen child abusers.

Once hired, the babysitters go through 80 hours of childcare education before starting their job, but only two hours are allocated to child abuse prevention and children's rights.

When a babysitter is found to have abused or assaulted a child, his or her license is suspended for six months, and the suspension could be extended for another six months. The license can be revoked only when a person receives three suspensions or is punished for a criminal act.

According to data the ministry submitted to Rep. Song Hee-kgyoung of the Liberty Korea Party, 41 babysitters had their license suspended between 2013 and 2017, and 11 of them returned to their jobs.

The biggest problem is it is difficult to detect abuse because most of the victims are toddlers who are unable to communicate effectively yet. For this reason many parents prefer to install CCTVs at home, but many babysitters are against the installation citing human rights violations.

“The services are offered in a private space. That's why it is difficult to detect the abuse and there could be similar cases,” Gender Equality and Family Minister Jin Sun-mee said in an emergency meeting with relevant officials, Wednesday. “We will come up with measures to strengthen the qualifications and education of babysitters.”

In the meantime, officers at Geumcheon Police Station in Seoul said Thursday that they plan to ask the prosecution to seek an arrest warrant for the problematic babysitter soon. They summoned the 58-year-old sitter, surnamed Kim, the previous day.

Earlier this week, the parents of a 14-month-old baby reported Kim to police and started a petition on Cheong Wa Dae's website stating their baby was continuously abused for three months. In the CCTV footage they uploaded, Kim was seen slapping the baby for not eating food and forcibly pulling and pinching the baby's cheek.

Through CCTV recordings between Feb. 27 and March 13, the police confirmed Kim abused the baby on 34 occasions, meaning more than twice a day. Kim generally admitted to the allegations, but told police that she did not realize her actions constituted child abuse.