Seoul mayor faces pressure to scrap Filipino helper scheme after 2 carers disappear

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon faces growing calls from labour activists to scrap the city’s Filipino nanny programme, one of the key policies he introduced to help alleviate South Korea’s fertility crisis.

The nation’s two largest umbrella trade unions ― the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) and the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) ― are now calling on the mayor to “completely re-examine” the feasibility of the policy, saying that it is all but certain to lead to many societal problems.

This comes after two Filipino domestic workers were confirmed to have been uncontactable since September 17. They were among the 100 women who arrived in Seoul on August 6 as part of a programme aimed at helping South Korean parents raise their children at a more affordable cost.

“It was a predictable consequence of a rushed policy by the (city and central) governments,” a KCTU spokesman said on Wednesday. “This policy is likely to result in a rise in the number of undocumented migrant workers and more human rights violations against them.”

The pilot project is expected to expand to other cities and regions after a six-month testing period in the capital. However, growing criticism could derail that plan.