Filipino caregivers come to Korea amid demographic crisis

Some 100 certified caregivers from the Philippines will come to South Korea in August to work as domestic helpers in a country struggling with the world’s lowest birth rate, a shrinking workforce and a rapidly aging population.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Ministry of Employment and Labor said on Tuesday the Filipino workers will begin working in Seoul in September on a six-month pilot basis.

The city government and the ministry will accept applications from Korean households from July 17 through Aug. 6 to hire Filipino domestic helpers.

Those interested in the service can register and then apply at the websites daerijubu.com and dorbom.com, according to the Seoul government.

The service is available to households in Seoul with children aged 12 or younger as well as parents who are expecting, regardless of their income levels, it said.

The central government plans to expand the service nationwide next year after the pilot program in Seoul.

Separately, the Ministry of Justice said it is considering a pilot program under which Korean households can hire foreign residents already in Korea as domestic helpers.

ENGLISH-KOREAN SPEAKING FILIPINOS WITH E-9 VISA

Korea’s labor ministry, in partnership with the Philippine government, has already selected the 100 caregivers, aged between 24 to 38, through a screening process.

In the Philippines, the caregivers have completed 780 hours of related training on childcare and housework and obtained a government-issued certificate.

Seoul said the caregivers are fluent in both English and Korean as they passed the Korean EPS-TOPIK test and an English interview. The candidates also underwent background checks for possible criminal record, mental illness and drug use.

The successful Philippine caregivers will come to Korea with an E-9 visa issued for non-professional workers.

They will be given 45 hours of training in Korean language and culture before leaving the Philippines and be enrolled in a four-week course in Korea on work safety, sexual harassment prevention and other tips on living in Korea.

KORAE’S DEMOGRAPHIC CRISIS

Seoul’s Filipino domestic helper initiative is designed to ease rising childcare burdens for Korean wives amid a growing demographic crisis.

Korea’s fertility rate has fallen to 0.7 — a record low not just for the country but globally.

In 2021, the country reported its first-ever drop in population, hit by a sharp fall in birth rates.

Korea is also seeking to entice more foreigners to its thinning workforce by easing rules on visa issuance and upgrading skilled foreign workers’ visa status.

The Filipino helpers will work up to eight hours a day from Monday through Friday. Shorter, part-time work is also possible and their maximum weekly work hours will be limited to 52 in line with the Korean Labor Act.

For their work, they will be paid 9,860 won (US$7.14) an hour – the legally set minimum wage in Korea. For working eight hours a day, they will be paid about 2.06 million won a month.

The incoming group of Filipino caregivers will all stay in a dormitory provided by the Seoul government.

Write to Hae-Ryon Choi and Yong-Hee Kwak at haeryon@hankyung.com
In-Soo Nam edited this article.