South Korea to expand foreign helper program to many Southeast Asian countries

Seoul's foreign home helper program, currently restricted to migrant workers from the Philippines, will be expanded to include other Southeast Asian countries next year, the city government and the labor ministry said Monday, Yonhap reports.

The Seoul city government and the labor ministry said they are considering expanding the labor-sending countries under the foreign household helper program to Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia and other Southeast Asian countries, starting next year.

In September, 100 Philippine workers began offering home chore services in Seoul as part of the city's pilot foreign helper program aimed at reducing household child care and homemaking burdens.

With the number of foreign domestic helpers scheduled to increase to about 1,200 next year, the authorities are determined to diversify the labor-sending countries.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon said in a parliamentary inspection of his government on Oct. 15 that there will be changes to the foreign domestic helper program, including the introduction of a competitive system by inviting workers from Cambodia and other Southeast Asian countries.

Labor Minister Kim Moon-soo also made similar remarks during his appearance in a TV interview on Sunday.

The Seoul city government and the labor ministry are reportedly planning to finalize the details of the foreign helper program expansion, including the number of new labor-sending countries, by February next year.