Philippine caregivers arrive at Incheon International Airport as part of Korea's pilot project to supply foreign caregivers to domestic households, Aug. 6. Joint Press Corps

Two Philippine domestic workers have been out of contact since last week after arriving in Korea under a pilot project aimed at reducing child care burdens and boosting the birth rate, officials said Monday.

The two, who arrived on Aug. 6 as part of a 100-member group of home helpers from the Southeast Asian nation, left their quarters on Sept. 15, the second day of a five-day Chuseok holiday. They were supposed to return by Sept. 18 but did not.

Their job placement agency has since tried unsuccessfully to reach them.

The agency plans to report their unauthorized absence to a regional labor office and the justice ministry Thursday. If they remain out of contact thereafter, they will officially be categorized as illegal immigrants, officials said.

It was not clear why they chose to leave, though some raise speculation that they fled due to low wages from short working hours compared with the manufacturing sector as well as fears of layoff after the short-term project.

On Sept. 2, they were paid about 2 million won ($1,492) in training allowance per person before tax and other deductions. The actual amount given to them was about 1.47 million won after deductions, according to city government officials.

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, officials said.

The Seoul 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 through talks with the ministry. (Yonhap)