Government Extends Pilot Program for Foreign Domestic Workers by One Year
Seoul's Share of Operating Costs Transferred to Service Providers
User Household Fees to Increase by 20% Starting Next Month
The full-scale foreign domestic worker program, introduced by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Ministry of Employment and Labor to address low birth rates, is expected to see monthly usage fees reach 3 million won starting next month due to delays.
According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Ministry of Employment and Labor on the 23rd, the government decided to extend the six-month pilot program for foreign domestic workers, which was operated in Seoul since last September, for an additional year. Originally, the government planned to conclude the pilot program at the end of this month and expand it nationwide as a full-scale project, but due to delays in inter-agency consultations, the pilot program will be extended for the time being.
Currently, 98 Filipino domestic workers are employed in Seoul. Among them, 94, excluding four who are returning to their home country, will continue working as domestic workers during the extended pilot program period. Working conditions such as guaranteed minimum working hours (30 hours per week) and minimum wage will be maintained at the current level.
The accommodation for domestic workers will also become 'voluntary.' Starting next month, domestic workers will be able to find and live in accommodations of their choice instead of the shared dormitory near Yeoksam-dong where they previously resided.
Usage fees will increase. From March, the Ministry of Employment and Labor decided to raise the fees for user households by 20%, as the service operating companies will have to bear the operating and management costs previously covered by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and others.
The usage fee will be raised to 16,800 won (from 13,940 won during the pilot program), reflecting operating and management costs. For 40 hours per week (8 hours per day), the monthly usage fee (including weekly holiday allowance) will increase from 2,425,560 won to 2,923,200 won, a rise of 497,640 won. Due to the higher fees, it is expected that user households will be concentrated in the Gangnam area.
In fact, during the early stages of the pilot program, more than 30% of users were concentrated in the 'Gangnam 3 districts.' Among the 157 households selected to use the service at that time, 33.8% resided in the Gangnam 3 districts (Gangnam, Seocho, Songpa).
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