Filipino caregivers arrive at Incheon International Airport, Aug. 6, as part of Korea's pilot project aimed at employing foreign workers in child care. Joint Press Corps

The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Wednesday that its pilot program employing caregivers from the Philippines is running smoothly and meeting consistent demand from residents.

However, the program's nationwide expansion remains uncertain despite the city government highlighting its success, as other municipal governments show little interest, citing concerns about the working conditions and wages of foreign caregivers.

Launched in September last year, 98 Filipino caregivers are currently providing child care services in Seoul.

Since its launch, the number of households using the service has grown from 142 to 185, with 795 on the waitlist.

Since the program's launch, 35 households have canceled the service, with 24 occurring within the first month, while an average of two to three cancellations per month are being reported, mainly due to changes in each household's circumstances.

The city government assured that available slots are being immediately assigned to households on the waitlist.

Critics initially raised concerns about the unclear scope of work before the service launch, but the city government reported that no major issues have arisen, citing sufficient consultations among caregivers, families and service-providing agencies.

Meanwhile, the nationwide demand for the foreign caregiver program, originally slated for expansion this year, has been lower than anticipated.

According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, only two municipal governments — Busan and Sejong — have expressed interest in implementing the program, besides Seoul, which is already running a pilot initiative employing Filipino caregivers. The remaining 17 local governments indicated no interest in the program.

Seoul's pilot project is set to conclude in February. The labor ministry had planned to expand the program to 1,200 foreign domestic workers by the first half of this year, depending on evaluations and demand from other regions.

However, with limited interest from local governments, the timeline for expansion has become uncertain. Some officials believe the rollout may be postponed to the year's second half instead of the first half.

"Local governments play a significant role in this project, so it is challenging to proceed with the main program without sufficient applications," an official at the labor ministry said. "If continuing the main project immediately proves difficult, there is a possibility of extending the service as a pilot project."