Seoul's new foreign nanny program criticized for bypassing labor protections

By KTimes

A new pilot program launched by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Ministry of Justice to employ foreign residents as domestic workers is facing strong backlash from labor groups, who argue that the initiative sidesteps minimum wage laws and creates “ghost workers” with no basic labor protections.

Under the program, foreign nationals legally residing in Seoul, including international students, graduates, marriage migrants’ family members and spouses of foreign workers, can now work in household and childcare roles through private contracts with individual employers.

Because these jobs fall under the legal category of “domestic service,” workers are not guaranteed minimum wage or protections under the Labor Standards Act.

Labor groups say the program effectively revives exploitative practices in the caregiving sector that Korea had only recently started to address. The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions said the pilot “produces migrant and informal care workers excluded from protection under labor laws like the Labor Standards Act and Minimum Wage Act.”

“This is a regression,” the group said. “Just four years ago, the 2021 Domestic Workers Act finally brought household workers out of the shadows. Now, this program is pushing care labor right back into them. There are no human rights safeguards, just workers without labor rights who can be more easily exploited.”

The Federation of Korean Trade Unions expressed similar concerns, warning that the program could drive down wages and harm domestic job opportunities. “Expanding this kind of legal blind spot will only spread low-wage, unprotected jobs. We urge the immediate suspension of the program,” the union said.

The Migrants’ Trade Union also criticized the move, calling it a potential violation of the International Labour Organization’s anti-discrimination conventions.

“This is an embarrassment on the international stage,” the group said. “Seoul and the Justice Ministry should stop weakening the public value of care work and dismantling migrant labor protections. They must also repeal the legal clause that excludes domestic workers from labor laws.”

The National Human Rights Commission had already recommended in 2017 that this exemption, which is based on Article 11 of the Labor Standards Act, be removed. The law currently states that domestic workers, such as housekeepers and babysitters, are not covered by the Act.

The city government says the program aims to make caregiving more affordable and accessible. Unlike the existing state-run program for hiring Filipino caregivers, the new initiative uses private contracts, allowing lower wages and sidestepping labor protections.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon first proposed the idea in 2022, emphasizing the need for flexible, low-cost care options to support working parents and ease Korea’s low birthrate crisis. Critics, however, say the cost-saving rationale cannot come at the expense of basic labor rights.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.