SEOUL, Nov. 3 (EconoTimes) — Yonhap News Agency reported 114 migrant labor and human rights groups gathered outside Cheong Wa Dae Tuesday, asking President Lee Jae Myung to apologize and pledge against repeating remarks they said could fuel anti-immigrant hostility.
Yonhap also reported that the organizers linked Lee’s remarks to online hate and discriminatory language. The protest followed his Oct. 27 Cabinet discussion of agricultural labor shortages. A government briefing records that Lee asked officials to assess what wages could persuade Korean workers to take agricultural jobs.
In a post on X that day, Lee argued that foreign workers’ remittances meant they contributed less than Korean workers to employment, consumption and domestic demand. He supported wage assistance to encourage more Korean hiring.
Lee’s proposal to review preferential benefits for multicultural families also drew criticism from the groups. On Oct. 28, he said he would consult local governments and consider changes to enforcement decrees. In posts on Oct. 29 and Oct. 31, he said support should continue, while policies should avoid preferential treatment or reverse discrimination.
Seoul’s postpartum-care pilot is among the programs discussed in the benefits debate. The city says the program combines public support with five private centers and aims to lower costs. It gives priority access to vulnerable mothers and mothers with multiple children or multiple births. Four centers opened June 8, 2026, and the fifth began operating Aug. 3. The pilot is scheduled to run through May 2027.
South Korea’s Ministry of Data and Statistics found in its 2025 Survey on Immigrants’ Living Conditions and Employment that foreign residents allocated 37.3% of income to living expenses and 25.5% to remittances as of May 2025. The survey covers foreign residents broadly, and its remittance figure combines transfers within South Korea with those sent abroad.
Lee Jae-san of the Joint Committee of Migrants in Korea told The Korea Herald that restrictions on bringing family members and staying long term help explain migrant workers’ remittance patterns. The newspaper also quoted Park Dong-chan, director of 3rd Voice Laboratory, as saying, “The president should take responsibility for this.”
Lee has not set a deadline for completing the benefits review in the posts cited.
