Labor unions have criticized the 'Foreign Caregiver Pilot Project' promoted by the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Seoul Metropolitan Government, arguing that the scope of work is unclear and measures for human rights protection are insufficient.

The Korea Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) and the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) issued statements on the 16th to express their concerns. The two unions highlighted the lack of clarity regarding domestic workers' duties and the potential for human rights violations. The KCTU stated, “According to the implementation guidelines and local selection announcements, domestic workers are required to perform almost all domestic work in addition to essential tasks such as child care.” The FKTU added, “Migrant domestic workers are permitted to provide ‘secondary and light’ domestic services for children, pregnant women, and other family members living together, which is a vague provision that allows a single domestic worker to take on all the care services of a household, undermining the human rights of foreign domestic workers.”

On the same day, the Ministry of Employment and the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that they will accept applications for the pilot program for Filipino foreign caregiving workers (E-9) for three weeks starting from the 17th. Under the pilot project, foreign housekeepers hired directly by service providers certified by the government under the Domestic Workers Act will commute to homes and provide care services.