[Anchor]

Repercussions are mounting after President Lee Jae-myung remarked that foreign workers do not significantly help the domestic economy. Progressive opposition parties have criticized the comments as inappropriate.

Ha Jeongyeon reports.

[Reporter]

It began on Tuesday, October 27, during a cabinet meeting when President Lee Jae-myung made the following remark while addressing labor shortages in the agriculture and livestock industries.

[President Lee Jae-myung (Cabinet Meeting, October 27) : "Even if we bring in foreign workers (to work), they do not significantly help the national economy, and they remit all (their wages), so..."]

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

He argued that it was a comparative statement meaning foreign workers are helpful, but not significantly compared to domestic workers, and that criticizing him under the premise that he said they were not helpful at all was excessive.

The Rebuilding Korea Party condemned it as an outrageous remark rooted in ignorance and prejudice, while the Justice Party also demanded that he apologize to migrant workers first before demanding an apology from the news organization.

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

Migrant workers' rights groups also issued a statement, questioning whether he was suggesting there is a hierarchy among workers in South Korean society based on how much they contribute to the national economy.

Controversy continued over another social media post by President Lee on Wednesday, October 28, in which he stated that preferential treatment policies for multicultural families by local governments, including Seoul, have become problematic and that he would review the need for such preferences.

The Blue House moved to contain the fallout by highlighting various policies aimed at protecting the human rights of foreign workers.

A Blue House official explained, "Raising concerns about the support system for multicultural families means that criticisms regarding reverse discrimination have emerged, and we intend to review them."

(Video Editing: Kim Jong-tae)