Unqualified babysitters

Recently, there have been some horrendous news reports about babysitters hired by the state that have enraged the parents of young children.

A woman in her late 50s hired for the state-funded childcare service became the center of controversy last week when footage of her slapping the face of an infant under her care was posted on Cheong Wa Dae's online petition site. She showed extremely violent behavior toward the 14-month-old, hitting the child's head and pinching its cheeks while feeding.

The babysitter was arrested, but this has not assuaged the concerns of parents who are forced to rely on the state childcare service to look after their children while they are at work or unable to take care of them by themselves.

It is hard to understand how people like the arrested babysitter, who apparently has no idea how to care for a child and lacks basic human decency, came to be hired for such a position. This only goes so show that the government has neglected the need to properly check the background and qualifications of the babysitters.

After the incident went viral, the government belatedly announced measures to improve the childcare service. Deputy Prime Minister Yoo Eunhae announced the measures, which focus on strengthening the screening process of applicants, at the Sejong Government Complex last week.

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family should make sure to properly reinforce the measures to completely root out child abuse by unqualified babysitters.