South Korea lifts curfew on Filipino helpers after 2 went missing

In response to worker feedback, Seoul said it will also revise pay systems and improve regulations for Filipino carers

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Some of the 100 Filipino women who are part of Seoul’s pilot programme for domestic workers pictured at Incheon International Airport in August. Photo: Yonhap/EPA-EFE

Published: 9:05am, 7 Oct 2024Updated: 12:18pm, 7 Oct 2024

A curfew on Filipino carers working in South Korea’s capital will be lifted this month, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said, as revisions to a pilot programme’s pay system and regulations are also introduced.

The move comes after a number of issues were identified during the pilot, including two domestic workers who went missing last month. The pair were later detained in Busan and now face legal consequences for their unauthorised absence.

The initiative – part of Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon’s broader strategy to address a declining birth rate by easing the childcare burden on families – is under review, with city officials holding meetings with representatives from the Ministry of Employment and Labour, partner companies, and the carers themselves.

The 10pm curfew had restricted Filipino workers from leaving their shared living spaces. Workers had voiced their dissatisfaction with the rule, asserting that they are adults capable of deciding how to spend their free time.

Additional reforms will allow the workers to receive their wages twice a month instead of once and enable them to continue working in South Korea after a six-month trial period, unless significant issues arise. Future work schedules will also take commuting distances into account for those juggling jobs across multiple households.

Seoul. South Korea’s capital has been running a pilot programme with Filipino domestic workers to ease the childcare burden on families. Photo: AFP

Kim Sun-soon, head of the city government’s policy division for gender equality and family, said the changes were made after gathering feedback “from the foreign workers and others involved in the programme and observing some areas that have room for improvement”.