Caregivers from the Philippines enter Korea at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, Aug. 6, for a pilot project to ease childcare burdens in Korean households. Newsis

Two Philippine domestic helpers were detained in the southeastern port city of Busan, Friday, after weeks of absence from work without permission, according to a local immigration office.

The two were part of 100 home helpers from the Southeast Asian country who arrived in Seoul, Aug. 6, under the Seoul Metropolitan Government's pilot project aimed at reducing child care burdens and boosting the birthrate.

They left their quarters, Sept. 15, the second day of a five-day Chuseok holiday. They were supposed to return to work by Sept. 18, but did not.

The Busan Immigration Office and police found they had illegally got jobs in the port city and detained them at their residences.

The immigration office plans to investigate the helpers and order them to leave the country.

The workers entered Korea as part of a six-month project led by the Seoul city government to assign foreign nannies to households with kids or newborns to help with child care and housework, and began working on Sept. 3 after about a month of training.

The remaining 98 people have been working normally.

The city government said it will actively cooperate with the labor ministry to improve their working conditions, including changing the wage system from a monthly to a weekly payment system. (Yonhap)