Seoul's foreign caregiver project, river bus under fire at audit

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon answers lawmakers' questions during a parliamentary audit of his administration held at Seoul City Hall on Tuesday. (Yonhap)

Various projects driven by the Seoul city government, such as the foreign caregiver scheme involving 100 Filipina workers and the Hangang River Bus, came under fire during a parliamentary audit on Tuesday. Mayor Oh Se-hoon also denied allegations that controversial pollster Myeong Tae-gyun was involved in a mayoral election he won in 2021.

In response to questions from Rep. Cho Seung-hwan of the ruling People Power Party regarding Seoul's foreign caregiver pilot program, Oh argued the program needs to be expanded to have the workers live in the households they are working in, similar to migrant domestic workers programs in Hong Kong and Singapore. He mentioned the possibility of collaborating with other countries, such as Cambodia, to bring in workers, noting that the current program is limited to caregivers from the Philippines. "We are exploring other forms of pilot projects to determine the best fit for our needs, and further announcements will follow after discussions with the Labor Ministry."

Launched last month, the six-month pilot program involves 100 Filipina caregivers providing child care to 169 selected Seoul households with children aged 12 or below, as well as to expecting parents. The pilot aims to alleviate the child care burden in response to a shortage of local caregivers willing to do low-wage care work.

The program has faced continued criticism for various reasons, from it being unaffordable for ordinary Korean households, to it not providing the workers with sufficient wages for the high cost of living in Seoul. Two workers who disappeared from the program in mid-September were found last week working other jobs in Busan. They cited overwork and excessive surveillance as reasons for their leaving.

The session later shifted focus to the Hangang River Bus project scheduled to launch service in March next year. When questioned by two lawmakers on the practicality of the service, which requires users to walk a long distance from the docking station to the nearest public transport -- either the subway or bus -- Oh said he believes it is "efficient."

Additionally, Oh addressed his alleged relationship with Myeong Tae-gyun, who claimed he played a decisive role in Oh's election as mayor in 2021 and broader political strategies. Responding to the lawmakers, Oh argued Myeong's claim is "nonsense," adding, "I've written a complaint." Oh criticized the lawmakers' questions about Myeong's claim as inappropriate for the setting of a government audit, arguing they were not a state-related affair or involving state support funds.