Controversy Grows Over Remarks on Foreigners and Multicultural Families; Cheong Wa Dae Moves to Contain Fallout

[Anchor]

Repercussions continue over remarks by President Lee Jae-myung that foreign workers do not significantly help the domestic economy. Progressive opposition parties pointed out that the remarks were inappropriate.

Ha Jeong-yeon reports.

[Reporter]

It began with these remarks by President Lee Jae-myung during a Cabinet meeting yesterday (October 27), when he mentioned workforce shortages in the agriculture and livestock industries.

[President Lee Jae-myung (Yesterday, Cabinet meeting) : "Even if we bring in foreign workers (to work), it doesn't help the national economy much, and they remit all (their wages) back home..."]

When the Hankyoreh newspaper reported these remarks under the headline "Foreign Workers Do Not Help National Economy," President Lee took issue on social media with the omission of the adverb "significantly" and demanded an apology from the newspaper.

He argued that it was a comparative expression meaning foreign workers do help, but not significantly compared to domestic workers, and that criticizing him on the premise that he said they do not help at all was going too far.

The Rebuilding Korea Party called it an absurd remark rooted in ignorance and prejudice, while the Justice Party demanded that he apologize to migrant workers first before demanding an apology from the press.

[Hong Seong-gyu / Progressive Party Spokesperson : "This is clearly an inappropriate remark. It is also hate speech against migrant workers. Acknowledge your mistake and apologize sincerely."]

Migrant workers' organizations also criticized the remarks in a statement, asking if there is a hierarchy of workers in Korean society based on how much they contribute to the national economy.

Controversy also continued over President Lee's social media post today, in which he stated that preferential treatment programs for multicultural families by local governments, including Seoul, have become an issue and that he would review the necessity of such treatment.

Cheong Wa Dae stepped in to contain the fallout by introducing various policies related to the protection of foreign workers' human rights.

A Cheong Wa Dae official explained, "Raising questions about the support system for multicultural families means that we will review it as concerns over reverse discrimination have been raised."

(Video by Kim Jong-tae)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.