Gang, Meehyun
|
Min, Naon
| 2026, 65(1)
| pp.9~52
| number of Cited : 0
This study examines the policy process of migrant care worker programs in South Korea using three theoretical frameworks: agenda-setting theory, non-decision making, and Type III error. It argues that the policy was formed through a top down agenda-setting process dominated by political elites, with limited participation from key stakeholders such as care workers, care recipients, and civil society. The analysis shows that critical issues—including labor rights, the social value of care work, and structural conditions of the care system—were systematically excluded from policy debates, reflecting a pattern of non-decision-making. At the same time, the policy misdefined the core problem as a shortage of low-cost labor rather than a structural crisis of care, resulting in a Type III error. As a consequence, the policy generated risks of labor rights violations, reinforced dependency through visa-employment linkage, and contributed to instability in the domestic care labor market. The study suggests that migrant care worker policy should be restructured by ensuring participatory agenda-setting, incorporating a gender-sensitive understanding of care, and aligning with labor and human rights standards.