[Exclusive] Seoul City to Participate in Project for 'Foreign Domestic Workers' Not Receiving Minimum Wage

'Foreign Domestic Workers' Pilot Project: 300 Participants
Unlike 'Filipino Domestic Managers', Minimum Wage Not Applied
Proficient in Korean Culture, High Cost Concerns
Need for Diverse Approaches in Introducing Foreign Labor

The Seoul Metropolitan Government will participate in the government's pilot project for 'foreign domestic workers' exempt from minimum wage regulations. The aim is to address both the labor shortage in the care sector and the expansion of foreign labor at a reasonable cost, but controversy over 'wages' is expected to continue this time as well.

According to government departments on the 12th, Seoul is discussing applying for 300 personnel in the Ministry of Justice's ongoing pilot project for 'foreign domestic workers.'

Domestic workers differ from the 'Filipino domestic managers' pilot project currently underway in Seoul. Unlike domestic managers, domestic workers are not subject to labor laws such as the minimum wage. They are workers such as housekeepers, cleaning staff, or drivers working in private households, contracting individually with each person.

The reason Seoul is participating in the 'domestic workers' pilot project is to expand the choice for care and childcare service users at a low wage and to find a way to guarantee the scope of activities for foreigners. Since the 'Filipino domestic managers' project has faced difficulties in nationwide expansion due to high cost controversies, the goal is also to compare and analyze the problems of the two systems through the operation of 'domestic workers' and establish a systematic operational system for foreign domestic and childcare services.

Unlike 'Filipino domestic managers,' the eligibility to participate as 'domestic workers' is limited to foreigners residing in Korea such as international students (D2, D10), family members of marriage immigrants (F-1-5), and spouses of foreign workers (F-3).

Seoul plans to cooperate using public infrastructure to facilitate smooth matching between service users during this process. Cooperation will be extended not only in recruitment and matching but also in training, contract signing, and settlement.

The issue is cost. Although the minimum wage does not have to be applied to 'domestic workers,' they are foreigners currently residing in Korea and, unlike 'Filipino domestic managers,' many are proficient in Korean and already adapted to Korean culture. This increases the likelihood that they will demand higher wages during individual contract negotiations. Previously, the 'Filipino domestic managers' also saw monthly usage fees reach 2.5 million KRW for 40 hours per week (8 hours per day), far exceeding the initial goal of 'domestic managers costing around 1 million KRW per month.' From this month, fees increased by 20%, surpassing 2.9 million KRW, which has stalled the nationwide expansion policy.

There are also concerns that this approach will produce workers outside the legal framework. Although the government emphasizes 'reasonable costs,' this approach at the stage of introducing foreign workers is said to only increase the number of 'informal workers.'

However, there are also arguments that more diverse attempts to introduce foreign labor should continue due to the expanding labor shortage in the industry. Since the introduction of foreign labor is inevitable, such attempts can lead to the establishment of phased systems such as visa system reforms and manpower operation plans by industry. Seoul's ongoing discussions to consider introducing foreigners in elderly care and village bus driver sectors, which are also experiencing labor shortages, besides 'Filipino domestic managers' and 'foreign domestic workers,' are in the same context.

Recently, a paper titled 'The Impact of Foreign Workers on Corporate Investment and Employment and the Estimation of Immigration Surplus' released by the Korean Association of Public Finance analyzed that thanks to the influx of foreign workers in the late 2010s, Korea's national income increased by about 0.08% of the annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP), approximately 1.5 trillion KRW. It concluded that the influx of foreign workers not only filled vacant jobs caused by population decline but also positively affected corporate investment, production, and domestic employment.