“We’re going on a couples’ trip, so watch our 4-year-old for 72 hours” ... Babysitter wanted for 300,000 won [What do you think?]

[Financial News] A job listing seeking a babysitter to care for a 4-year-old child at home for 24 hours while the parents go on a two-night, three-day trip, offering a total of 300,000 won, has belatedly come to light and drawn fierce criticism online.

On the 2nd, a post sharing a screenshot of a job listing titled “Looking for someone to care for a 4-year-old boy around the clock” was posted on a local community forum and secondhand trading platform, Karrot. The listing had appeared on the “Neighbor Part-Time Jobs” board during last summer’s vacation season.
The author wrote in the listing, “We’re going on a two-night, three-day trip,” and added, “We’re looking for a babysitter to stay at our home for three days and care for our child around the clock.”
The specific duties included not only childcare but a wide range of household chores. The author wrote that they wanted someone to “prepare the child’s meals, cook for and feed them, wash them, put them down for naps, and play with them,” as well as “do the laundry and dishes, vacuum, and tidy up.” They added, “Four is a challenging age, so special care is needed,” and said, “You just need to look after the child responsibly and competently around the clock.”
The terms set by the author required the sitter to stay at the home for two nights and three days (72 hours) and take full responsibility for everything, including meals, hygiene and childcare for a 4-year-old boy, as well as household chores such as cleaning, laundry and dishes. In effect, the author was asking one person to take on the roles of both a professional childcare provider and a housekeeper.
But the offered pay was just 300,000 won in total for three days. A simple calculation based on 72 hours of live-in work puts the hourly rate at about 4,166 won. That is less than half the statutory minimum hourly wage (around 10,000 won), and the terms do not reflect even basic legal requirements, such as the night and weekend premiums essential for live-in childcare.

What angered online commenters most was the parents’ irresponsible attitude. They said that the very idea of leaving a child barely four years old with a stranger and going on a trip as a couple—after finding that person through a platform used by people whose identities have not been verified—was beyond common sense.
Online commenters who read the account strongly condemned the parents, saying, “How is it sane to leave a 4-year-old with a complete stranger around the clock just because you want to go on a trip?”; “Paying 4,000 won an hour and making someone do housework as well as childcare isn’t enough—the child’s safety doesn’t even seem to matter to them”; and “Leaving a child in the care of a platform gig worker whose identity hasn’t even been verified is clearly emotional and physical neglect and abuse.”
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