Parents Waiting for Caregivers Turn to Private Companies... Controversy Over Incorporating Private Sector into Official System [The Quagmire of Care]

[The Swamp of Care]⑤ On the Ground
Public Care in 'Waiting State' for Months
Using Private Companies with Government Subsidies
Private Companies "Supply Must Be Filled by National Management"

"I signed up six months ago to officially use the childcare assistant service after returning to work."

Kwon (30), who is raising a 10-month-old child in Seoul, is receiving temporary childcare assistant linkage support through the Metropolitan Support Center. Temporary linkage is a short-term care service available to regular members who can use regular services and members in the 'waiting status' for regular membership. Due to the increased waiting days for childcare assistants, temporary support is being provided.

Waiting for months, parents switching between private and public care

Public Childcare Service App Description. Screenshot of the Childcare Service.

Kwon is in a situation where she can convert to a regular member for up to about six months based on the '1 point added for every 1 month of waiting' criterion. She explained, "I chose the public childcare service because it is affordable and local governments provide additional financial support. However, since the waiting time is long, some parents first use private care services and then switch to public services once the public service waiting period ends."

Hwang (29, Jeonju, Jeonbuk), who has used private care services, said, "I used part of the childbirth support fund from the government for private care services," adding, "I chose it after reading reviews on mom cafes that you can designate a specific helper (childcare assistant) even if you pay more." According to the 2021 National Childcare Status Survey, among users of individual childcare support services, 76.8% utilized private childcare assistants. This was more than three times higher than the 23.3% utilization rate of public childcare assistants during the same period. Currently, there are no official statistics estimated by the government regarding private childcare companies.

Private sector "Inclusion in the system" vs Care labor union "Public expansion"

Gumi City 365 Idol Care Daycare Center. Article content unrelated to the photo.

However, the situation is no different in the private care industry. Since private care companies are not government-regulated, their service costs are higher than public care services, and it is difficult to manage childcare assistants under the current Labor Standards Act. Moreover, there are reports that the supply of childcare assistants is insufficient, causing price instability. A representative from a care company said, "The number of care workers active in the country is continuously decreasing," adding, "With high demand and reduced supply, wages inevitably keep rising."

He emphasized the need for government-level measures. "As long as childcare assistants remain 'freelancers' without direct employment, market prices will inevitably rise," he stressed, "Ultimately, the customers end up suffering."

Since up to 70% of parents use private care company services, private companies argue that inclusion in the formal system is necessary to meet care demand. A representative from another care company said, "Due to the nature of the childcare market, short-term care between 4 PM and 8 PM has the highest demand," adding, "To fill care gaps, parents should be able to choose various services even in the private sector."

The care labor union emphasizes the role of the public sector over the private. They criticize the government for not making sufficient efforts to expand public childcare assistants. Lee Junam, Vice Chairman of the Public Solidarity Union of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, said, "Childcare should be a public service expanded and fully taken responsibility for by the state, so why is there talk about opening the market to the private sector?" He added, "Since the government announced plans to expand public childcare, they need to present concrete measures on how to increase it."