The role of Filipino caregivers in Korea has sparked a controversy due to ambiguous descriptions of their responsibilities, raising questions about whether their duties should include not only child-related tasks, but also household chores.

However, in a recent interview with The Korea Times, Philippine Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo clarified that the caregivers will assist with not only child care but also household chores, in accordance with the pilot project guidelines set by the Ministry of Employment and Labor.

“They would help basically in carrying out daily activities with the families. This would include caregiving, cleaning, laundry, kitchen work and child care. They will be taking care of the basic daily chores for these specific families, enabling the parents to undertake economic activities or go to work,” he said during the interview held at the Philippine Embassy in Seoul, Aug. 8.

According to guidelines for the pilot project managed by the labor ministry and the Philippine Overseas Labor Office, the primary duty is caregiving. This includes tasks such as dressing children, bathing them, preparing infant food and preparing meals for pregnant women.

In addition to caregiving, other tasks may be performed to some extent. For services extending beyond six hours, they are permitted to wash and dry adults’ clothes, clean dishes, and vacuum or mop floors. However, they are not responsible for tasks such as taking out the trash, cooking meals for adults, hand mopping, or organizing storage.

One hundred Filipino caregivers arrived in Korea Aug. 6. They are participating in the pilot program managed by the Ministry of Employment and 스포츠 Labor and the Seoul Metropolitan Government. They will receive a total of 160 hours of specialized training over four weeks before officially starting their services on Sept. 3.

The four-week specialized training includes lessons on basic living laws, sexual harassment prevention, child care, and household management duties, as well as Korean language and cultural orientation.

This initiative, led by the Ministry of Employment and Labor in Korea, was a collaborative effort aimed at supporting the country’s growing need for caregiving professionals.

“This issue has been in the works for some time and it was actually spearheaded by the Ministry of Employment in Korea,” Manalo said. “I think the proposal came and they sought our assistance to see whether we could provide this kind of assistance. Naturally, given our very close and strong partnership, we were eager to respond to this initiative by the Korean government.”