A caregiver from the Philippines looks after a child at an apartment in Seoul, Sept. 3, 2024, on the first day of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's pilot program. Yonhap

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Tuesday that 89 Filipino caregivers will continue providing child care services to 148 families in the capital as part of an extension of the city's pilot project.

The latest decision follows the first extension made by the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Seoul government, which lasted from Sept. 3 last year to Feb. 28 this year.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government's decision to invite the Filipino caregivers is closely linked to Korea's urgent birthrate crisis. The city government aims to ease a major strain on families by offering affordable child care services, hoping to encourage them to have more children.

The number of caregivers went down from 98 to 89, as nine wished to return home due to personal reasons. The number of households using the service also decreased from 185 to 148. Among those families, 135 renewed their contracts after using the service, while 13 new families joined the initiative. Meanwhile, 102 families are still on the waitlist.

However, the pilot program has not been without its problems.

In September, two caregivers participating in the pilot program disappeared from their accommodations in Seoul. They were later found working new jobs in a different city, and cited "overwork and overwatch" as their reasons for abandoning their original jobs. Other caregivers reported to the city government that their wages were inadequate for the level of work required, as the government did not provide any additional assistance for their living expenses. They also raised concerns about their working conditions, saying they had no time for proper breaks to rest or eat, which was particularly difficult for who worked for more than one household.

The usage fee has increased by 2,860 won to 16,800 won ($11.50) per hour. The figure is higher than Korea's minimum wage of 10,030 won, and includes retirement pay and company operating expenses.

Starting this month, the caregivers also have the option to move out of the dormitory they had previously been required to live in. Of the 89 caregivers, 33 will stay in the existing accommodation and 56 chose individual accommodations.

The dormitory offers unlimited rice for a monthly fee ranging from 470,000 won to 520,000 won, which also covers public utility bills and management expenses.

Individual accommodations are mostly single-room living spaces or flats, where residents pay separately for rice, utility bills and management fees, amounting to about 300,000 won to 400,000 won per month.

Meanwhile, the government is pushing to expand a separate foreign caregiver program, which is not subject to the minimum wage.

The Ministry of Justice announced Monday that it has been collaborating with the ministries of employment and family since the second half of last year to prepare a pilot program offering employment opportunities in housework and child care to international students, graduates and the families of marriage immigrants.

"The purpose of the pilot program is to support the stable domestic settlement of foreign nationals by expanding consumers' options to meet niche (part-time) demand in the housework and child care sectors, while also broadening the scope of work opportunities for foreigners," the ministry explained.