Ministry of Employment Accelerates Promotion of the 'Domestic Worker Act'... Collects Opinions by Visiting Platform Companies

Visit to Regulatory Sandbox Demonstration Special Approval Company 'Home Story Saenghwal'
Securing Quality Workforce by Directly Employing Workers... Improving Service Quality
"Expecting High-Quality Service" "Prompt Enactment of Domestic Worker Act"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] On the 12th, Im Seo-jeong, Vice Minister of Employment and Labor, visited 'Home Story Saenghwal,' a model company in the household service platform sector, and held a meeting to hear opinions from the field. The Ministry of Employment and Labor plans to promote the enactment of the 'Household Workers Act' to foster the household service industry based on field opinions.

Home Story Saenghwal operates the household service platform application called Daerijubu. Before the enactment of the Household Workers Act, it received approval for a regulatory sandbox demonstration exception and is implementing a direct employment model.

Recently, the household service market has rapidly expanded due to the emergence of numerous smartphone app-based O2O (online to offline) platform companies and the increase in dual-income households, which has led to growing demand for household services.

While market demand is increasing, it is understood that there is a significant labor shortage in the household service market because most workers are middle-aged and older women, and there is a lack of personnel providing high-quality household services.

Home Story Saenghwal has requested the enactment of the Household Workers Act to secure high-quality household service personnel and create a revenue model through service quality improvement.

However, as the review of the Household Workers Act was continuously postponed in the 19th and 20th National Assemblies, the company applied for and received approval for a regulatory sandbox demonstration exception that prioritizes the application of the Household Workers Act bill submitted by the government before the law's enactment.

Accordingly, since March of this year, the company has been conducting a demonstration exception project that directly employs household workers to provide household services. The demonstration exception conditions include signing labor contracts, applying the four major social insurances, and complying with the Minimum Wage Act.

The demonstration exception is valid for two years, and approval was granted for hiring up to 1,000 directly employed household workers. Due to the contraction of the household service market caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, it is understood that 102 workers were directly employed as of the end of last month.

Once the Household Workers Act is enacted, the regulatory sandbox demonstration exception will lose its effect, and the Household Workers Act will be directly applied.

At the meeting, Han Jeong-hoon, CEO of Home Story Saenghwal, said, "Through direct employment of household workers, workers can work in a stable labor environment, and companies can provide high-quality services to users by enabling systematic management such as education and training."

He added, "We hope the government will put more effort into enacting the Household Workers Act so that the household service market can be further revitalized in line with the gradually increasing demand for household services."

Vice Minister Im said, "We have reaffirmed that the law is necessary not only to protect the rights and interests of household workers but also to revitalize the household service market and promote women's economic activities. Based on the field opinions shared here, we will do our best to ensure the prompt enactment of the Household Workers Act."