Filipino caregivers arrive at Incheon International Airport, Aug. 6. Korea launched a more affordable foreign nanny program Monday for residents in Seoul, as part of efforts to reduce the child-rearing burden on parents and help boost the nation's low birthrate. Joint Press Corps

Korea launched a more affordable foreign nanny program for residents in Seoul on Monday as part of its efforts to ease the child-rearing burden on parents and help address the nation's low birthrate.

Under a trial scheme initiated by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, noncitizens holding one of four visas — D-2, D-10-1, F-3 and F-1-5 — can register their job-related information on a site managed by outsourcing service firm EasyTask. If selected, they will undergo weeks of required training before being permitted to work as domestic workers, babysitters or both.

For service users, it will be a more affordable version of a similar state-run program, through which parents in the city could hire Filipino caregivers. But unlike the Filipinos, workers who participate in the new project will not be subject to the Labor Standards Act — and can therefore be paid less than the minimum wage — because they would work under private contracts, according to the city government.

Article 11 of the law says, "This Act shall neither apply to any business or workplace in which only the employer's blood relatives living together are engaged nor to servants hired for the employer's domestic works."

Service providers and users can freely search for potential employers and employees on the platform, where they can negotiate work hours, wages and other conditions. Officials said the city and central governments will play only a minimal role in the program's operation by providing administrative support.

International students (D-2), job seekers (D-10-1), parents and family members of marriage immigrants (F-1-5) and spouses and minor children (F-3) of workers holding certain long-term visas can apply for the program starting Monday. The first group of workers is expected to receive required training between April and June before starting work as early as June.

According to the Ministry of Justice's 2023 data, the number of people holding the four visa types was more than 82,700.

To encourage foreign residents to apply for the program, the ministry said it will offer various incentives such as an additional 10 points for participants who seek to obtain D-10 visas after working for six months or more. The visa is originally designed for individuals who graduated from a Korean university or have worked in the country for at least one year and are looking to extend their stay for a longer period of time.

"This is a collaborative pilot project between the Ministry of Justice and the city government, which was launched to offer foreigners in Korea the opportunity to work as domestic service providers," said Lee Hae-sun, director-general at the Global City Policy Division at the city government, adding that he hopes the program will benefit both citizens and foreign residents.

This comes after the six-month pilot program inviting 100 Filipino caregivers to Seoul ended in February. Since its launch, there were complaints about the higher-than-expected cost of their services, with the initial plan to pay them less than minimum wage derailed by opposition lawmakers and human rights groups who called for policymakers to follow international standards of equal treatment.