1. Termination of the Pilot Program
- The Ministry of Justice has officially decided to terminate the controversial Foreign Caregiver Pilot Program.
- Reasons for termination:
- Strong criticism from women’s organizations, labor unions, and the media regarding the exemption from minimum wage regulations
- Low participation rate among foreign workers
- Operational difficulties faced by local governments
2. Political Dispute and Accountability
- Hyeon-hee Jeon of the Democratic Party of Korea stated:
- Seoul’s poor performance was a major factor in the decision to end the program
- She criticized the outcome as a waste of national budget and human resources, calling it an administrative failure by Mayor Se-hoon Oh, since no contracts were signed despite training efforts
- Seoul Metropolitan Government’s response:
- Clarified that foreign workers must first receive official permission for activities outside their visa status from the Ministry of Justice
- Claimed that Seoul was not responsible for the job matching stage
3. Administrative Gap
- The Director of the Ministry of Justice’s Immigration and Foreign Policy Bureau resigned in April 2024, leaving the post vacant for over four months
- The Ministry acknowledged that the extended acting leadership delayed policy decisions
4. Labor Union Response
- Young-mi Choi, head of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions’ Domestic and Care Workers Union, welcomed the termination
- She called on the government to:
- Conduct a comprehensive assessment of the domestic labor force
- Provide job training for foreign workers
- Offer support for migrant workers’ families and children
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I believe that Korea’s political instability and the absence of a clear legal framework during the pilot project period significantly affected its implementation.
Despite changes in government, the underlying social challenges Korea faces remain the same.
I hope the insights gained from this pilot project will help shape more effective and inclusive policymaking in the future.
I would also like to express my sincere gratitude to the Filipino caregivers who took part in the project.
– newbieplace.com –