Oh Sehoon: "Foreign Domestic Worker Program Is Realistically Difficult"

Attending City Council Inquiry: "Japanese Model... Preparing for Labor Shortages"
"Paying Minimum Wage and Embracing Social Integration Is Necessary"

On June 12, Seoul Mayor Oh Sehoon stated regarding the foreign domestic worker program, "Given Korea's international standing and labor environment, it is realistically difficult to introduce very low-cost foreign labor." The foreign domestic worker program was a project that Mayor Oh had proposed to the government as part of measures to address the low birth rate, but its effectiveness has been questioned due to high costs.

Mayor Oh attended the regular session of the Seoul Metropolitan Council on the same day. In response to a question from lawmaker Aisuru (Proportional Representation, Democratic Party of Korea), who asked, "Do you acknowledge the failure of the foreign domestic worker program?" Mayor Oh replied, "Rather than defining it as a success or failure, I believe we need to deeply reflect on the reality our society is facing," and made the above remarks.

Seoul Mayor Oh Sehoon is attending and responding to policy questions at the regular session held at the Seoul Metropolitan Council in Jung-gu, Seoul on the 11th. Photo by Yonhap News

Previously, from September 2023 to February 2024, the Seoul Metropolitan Government conducted a pilot project for foreign domestic workers with 100 workers from the Philippines. However, during this process, the application of the same hourly minimum wage as for domestic workers led to cost issues, and there were also controversies over unauthorized departures by workers and human rights violations.

Mayor Oh also admitted, "At first, I was actually ambitious. I thought it would be good to supply labor at a low cost by benchmarking the Hong Kong and Singapore models." He continued, "During the pilot project, my perspective changed, and I thought the Japanese model might be a wiser approach. By paying minimum wage and, in the long run, accepting workers under a social integration policy so that they remain good neighbors, I believe this could be a sustainable policy."

The Seoul Metropolitan Government is currently conducting a fact-finding survey on the foreign domestic worker pilot project. Although it has become difficult to proceed with the full-scale project due to lack of demand, the city intends to use the evaluation of the pilot project as a foundation for establishing the system. The results of the survey will be used as a basis for expanding service use and moving forward with the main project. After the conclusion of the pilot project, the Seoul Metropolitan Government stated, "Both the households using the service and the domestic workers showed very high satisfaction, and the project achieved its intended outcomes, verifying its effectiveness as a future alternative to address labor shortages in the care sector." In March, during the extension of the pilot project, the number of households using the service decreased from 185 to 148, but the city also disclosed that more than 90% of these households?135 (91.2%)?decided to continue using the service through contract renewal.

On the same day, Mayor Oh also expressed his position on the Ministry of Justice's pilot project for 'foreign domestic employees' who are not subject to the minimum wage. In response to concerns that similar problems might recur in the domestic employee pilot project, he said, "We will inevitably face an absolute shortage of labor in the future, so we must continue to make efforts like pilot projects in advance to prepare for that time. Rather than criticizing before it even begins, I hope we can keep an open mind, engage in discussion, and introduce a reasonable system."