Some 100 foreign housekeepers to enter S.Korea in 2023

About 100 Philippine housekeepers will come to work in South Korea this year under a pilot public project to raise the birth rate by reducing the housework burden for female workers.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor on Monday announced the project's plan. Also open to those eligible for the non-professional worker visa E-9, the trial service will see about 100 foreign housekeepers initially brought in. 

The project will run for at least six months in the Seoul metropolitan area and target working couples in their 20s to 40s, single parents and pregnant women.

Under the Domestic Workers Act, a government-certified recruiting agency will directly hire such staff, who will commute to and from their assigned homes and sign service contracts.

Their duties will include cleaning, laundry, cooking, protection of household members and childcare. Such workers cannot reside with their families and must live separately.

As for countries sending such staff, priority will go to those sending E-9-eligible personnel with qualification systems specifically for domestic workers. A strong candidate in this regard is the Philippines, whose qualification system issues a certificate of completion after six months of study at a vocational training center.

Work-related laws such as the Labor Standards Act will also apply to these workers, but select regulations will be excluded like those on vacation, holidays and annual leave under the Domestic Workers Act.

The minimum wage for such housekeepers from abroad will also be applied the same way as that for other foreign workers. Because this is a pilot project, the market will set their service rates and wages.

Write to Yong-Hee Kwak at kyh@hankyung.com