President Lee Jae-myung said today (November 3), "The national community has an obligation to look after the difficulties of the socio-economically vulnerable and meticulously prepare support measures for them," adding, "However, in that process, the principles of fairness and reasonableness must be considered together."

In his opening remarks at a Cabinet meeting he presided over at the Blue House on this day, President Lee stated, "No matter how small or trivial a benefit may seem, if it continues without rational grounds, it can undermine the community's trust in the system."

President Lee emphasized, "This not only weakens the sustainable foundation of policies, but can also provide an excuse for instigation to forces that incite hatred against the vulnerable," adding, "We must not overlook even a single broken window to prevent greater distrust and conflict and better protect the vulnerable."

He also urged, "The government must meticulously reexamine the support criteria and implementation status of public services, and swiftly improve any irrationalities or unfairness that are difficult for the public to understand," asking officials to "strive to realize fair and reasonable state administration that the vast majority of the community can accept, while taking different circumstances into account."

His message is interpreted as being mindful of the recent controversy over equity surrounding preferential treatment programs for multicultural families.

Earlier, on October 28, President Lee cited a post on X from 'FM Korea' (Femco), a conservative online community, stating that he would review whether to abolish preferential treatment systems for multicultural families. In response, some voiced backlash, arguing that weakening support for the socially vulnerable is wrong.

President Lee then posted on X again on November 1 to counter the criticism, stating, "Listening to voices pointing out that there are hard-to-understand issues in some multicultural family support policies cannot be an act of discrimination," adding, "A dogmatic attitude that prevents people from calling a problem a problem could rather undermine the original purpose of embracing multicultural families healthily as equal citizens of the Republic of Korea."

(Photo: Yonhap News)