“President Lee should meet multicultural families and migrant workers in person to resolve the situation”···Conversation with Professor Hong Sung-soo and Attorney Choi Jeong-gyu - 경향신문

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Professor Hong Sung-soo of Sookmyung Women’s University, who has studied minority rights and issues of hate (left), and Attorney Choi Jeong-gyu of Law Firm Wongok, who has represented socially vulnerable groups including migrant workers, hold a conversation at the Kyunghyang Shinmun building in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the 10th regarding President Lee Jae Myung’s recent controversial remarks. Moon Jae-won, reporter

“Migrant workers are taking our jobs.” “Multicultural policies are a waste of taxes.” Until just over ten years ago, few people would welcome posts like these. People may have thought so privately, but these were not things one could openly say. What was initially seen only on certain online boards at some point became language you could find anywhere on the Internet. Now it is easily encountered offline as well, and politicians who say such things have even appeared.

These sentences from <The Illusion That We Do Not Discriminate>, published in October 2025 by Professor Hong Sung-soo of Sookmyung Women’s University School of Law, were reproduced in reality exactly one year later. It began with posts such as, “Even if we bring in foreign workers to work, it does not significantly help the national economy” (October 27), and, “Systems that favor multicultural families are becoming a problem” (October 28). Claims of ‘reverse discrimination against nationals,’ once discussed mainly on the conservative-leaning community ‘FM Korea’ (Pemco), spread via the social network X until they could be seen everywhere. The person who made these statements was the nation’s top leader, President Lee Jae Myung.

Professor Hong Sung-soo, who has delved into minority rights and the issues of hate speech and discrimination, assessed that “the commonsense ethical awareness that ‘one should be careful in speaking about socially vulnerable people’ began to collapse at some point.” He added, “It is a very dangerous sign that even political forces that claim to strive for a democratic government are speaking this way.” Attorney Choi Jeong-gyu (Law Firm Wongok), who has consistently represented socially vulnerable groups such as migrant workers, said, “In Korean society, where hate speech can escalate into physical actions, it is difficult even to anticipate the side effects of presidential remarks that lend force to prejudices like ‘reverse discrimination against nationals.’”

The two agreed that President Lee should not merely say he had no intention to foment hate, but must show through action a determination to prevent discrimination and human rights infringements. They also emphasized that, as this is a moment when hate crosses a dangerous threshold, it may be the “last chance” to control it by preparing laws and policies for a systematic response. On November 10, Professor Hong and Attorney Choiwho, as a researcher and a lawyer, have long confronted entrenched problems of discrimination and hate in Korean societymet at the Kyunghyang Shinmun in Jung-gu, Seoul. The following is the full conversation.

-What is the most serious problem in President Lee’s remarks about multicultural families and migrant workers?

Hong Sung-soo (hereafter Hong)= “If he threw them out without much thought, that in itself is a problem, and if he made them intentionally for political calculation, that is also a problem. From the perspective of studying hate, what I see as serious is not the intention but the logic of the remarks themselves. He set up a confrontation as if ‘our interests’ and ‘their interests’ clash, and framed it as a zero-sum relationship where one side’s gain is the other side’s loss. This is a classic pattern often seen in hate-mongering. When this happens, the possibility of coexistence, cooperation, and solidarity disappears, leaving only the unfair binary choice of ‘Will you protect our rights or protect theirs?’ It is dangerous in that it leads people to perceive immigrants and multicultural families not as members of the community but as an outside group competing with citizens.”

Choi Jeong-gyu (hereafter Choi)= “When the migrant worker issue first came up, I thought it was a slip of the tongue. Earlier this year at a town hall in Ulsan, President Lee asked in effect, ‘Shipbuilding is booming, so why are only migrant workers at minimum wage working there?’ and I thought he properly pinpointed the entrenched structure of low wages and poor working conditions. At the time, the issue of migrant workers’ ‘remittances to their home countries’ was also mentioned, but the overall thrust did not draw criticism. This time, however, what followed was shocking. Rather than simply clarifying, he took issue with a particular news headline and lost his temper while fixating on ‘(national economic) contribution.’ Economic considerations may have been reflected, but to say such things in public is a diplomatic discourtesy to the countries concerned and a crude mindset that lays bare its nakedness. When the comment about multicultural families came one after another, I wondered if he really wanted a fight.”

Hong= “That said, the two remarks are somewhat different in character. The remark about migrant workers came out in an exchange with a minister, and it could have been resolved with proper handling; the failure to do so is the problem. The remark about multicultural families was posted on X, and I believe there was clearly a certain intention along the lines of ‘If I say this, it will be a talking point for someone.’”

Professor Hong Sung-soo of Sookmyung Women’s University, who has studied minority rights and issues of hate, speaks on the 10th at the Kyunghyang Shinmun in Jung-gu, Seoul, about President Lee Jae Myung’s recent controversial remarks. Moon Jae-won, reporter

-President Lee said, “This should not be misunderstood as a measure that triggers discrimination or hate.” What social harm do you think his remarks have caused?

Choi= “As Professor Hong’s <The Illusion That We Do Not Discriminate> notes, in the past there was a line that, even if one harbored discriminatory thoughts, one should not say them out loud. Now, however, not only certain politicians but even the president are saying such things, and claims like reverse discrimination against nationals have burst forth with people thinking, ‘The president thinks this way, too.’ This is a major side effect. The very act of the president replying ‘a good oint’ to a Pemco post that took issue with public postnatal care support for multicultural families lends force to prejudice.”

Hong= “Every statement must be considered in context. If Korean society had been a place entirely free of prejudice against migrant workers and multicultural families, such words might have been accepted. The problem is that there are always groups exposed to prejudice. If politicians are not careful about what they say, even words they believe to be neutral or policy-oriented can lend strength to prejudice. In fact, in Korean society it was common ethical sense to ‘be careful in speaking about the weak and minorities.’ That began to collapse at some point. It is a very dangerous sign that even political forces that claim to inherit the democratization movement and aim for a democratic government are saying such things. There is also a socio-economic crisis behind the spread of hate. With structural crises continuing in Korea as well, we must worry that things could spiral into extremes if politicians join in.”

Choi= In 2023 in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, teenagers exploited the fact that undocumented foreigners hesitate to report to the authorities and extorted money from them. Around the same time, Park Jin-jae, head of the Citizens’ Coalition to Protect Nationals, who ran as a candidate of the Liberty Unification Party in the 22nd general election, went around ‘privately arresting’ undocumented migrant workers. This means that hate and discrimination in Korean society are not confined to expressions alone. Of course, actions like assault are punished, but in a situation where the state does not send a clear signal that hate speech is ‘not allowed,’ people who go beyond hate speech to action are popping up. When the president makes remarks like these, it is difficult even to anticipate the side effects.”

-It has been 18 years since the Multicultural Families Support Act was enacted. As President Lee says, have the lives of multicultural families and migrant workers improved to the point that policy needs a review?

Hong= “The reason multicultural families became a target is partly because support policies have been implemented for nearly 20 years, which provided a pretext. But if you ask whether discrimination and exclusion have disappeared, there is a question mark. More importantly, I want to ask how thoroughly the president examined their lives before speaking. The president can instruct relevant ministries to investigate actual conditions and policy effectiveness to establish evidence. Announcing a review of policies while depicting them as a group receiving undue benefits without such examination is irresponsible.”

Choi= “Looking only at the cases filed with the Gyeonggi Province Diversity Communication and Mediation Committee, introduced in 2019 to mediate conflicts between immigrants and nationals, immigrants are excluded from or discriminated against in areas across the life cyclefrom birth congratulatory payments to education expenses, transportation costs, and universal provision of menstrual products. Such practices are widespread across local governments, so is Korean society really in a position to talk about reverse discrimination? As for migrant workers, even in the 23rd year of the Employment Permit System, freedom to change workplaces is not guaranteed. It cannot be said to have improved at all.”

-Can Korea be seen as entering a phase in which hate-based politics is taking hold, as with far-right parties in Europe?

Hong= “It is hard to say President Lee’s remarks had a clear intentionality to secure political gain, which makes them quite different from Europe’s far-right politics. That does not grant absolution, however. Even if a remark is an unintentional outburst, if he begins to feel that this framing produces political benefits, it becomes dangerous in that there is a possibility it will become more active going forward. It is also important that, after President Lee’s remarks, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon and lawmaker Na Kyung-won of the People Power Party reacted. In the broader conservative camp, there have been intermittent attempts to politically exploit confrontational frames targeting refugees, migrant workers, women, people with disabilities, and sexual minorities, but they were not particularly successful. This time, however, they seemed to feel they had been ‘scooped’ and jumped in belatedly. If a competition breaks out over who attacks migrant workers more sharply and who excludes multicultural families more definitively, that is the worst possible configuration.”

Choi= “It is difficult to draw comparisons with European far-right parties, but I worry that a ‘Korean-style far right’ could emerge in a mutated form. Hate and discrimination do not explode all at once; they seep in bit by bit. It may be that no single politician leads it, and we arrive at an era in which hate and discrimination become mainstream perceptions. That is even more frightening, because we would not know how to respond.”

Attorney Choi Jeong-gyu of Law Firm Wongok, who has represented socially vulnerable groups including migrant workers, speaks on the 10th at the Kyunghyang Shinmun in Jung-gu, Seoul, about President Lee Jae Myung’s recent controversial remarks. Moon Jae-won, reporter

-It has been more than ten years since ‘hate speech’ began to be discussed in mainstream terms. How do you view the response from the political sphere?

Hong= “Compared to around 2012, when the hate speech issue began to be discussed in earnest, public awareness has greatly improved. In contrast, the response from the political sphere has been far too weak, and laws and policies have not kept up. This year, a provision was introduced into the Information and Communications Network Act designating some hate speech as illegal information, but the scope has been narrowed to extreme hate incitement, so it should be seen as little more than a starting point for response. Politicians have made hardline statements like ‘thorough response’ and ‘shut down Ilbe’ whenever a hate incident erupted, but everything fizzled out afterward. Now we truly need to wake up and respond systematically. The Democratic Party is the majority party holding power. If it sets its mind to it, it can craft good laws and policies. This opportunity must not be missed.”

Choi= “Korea has only the Act on the Prohibition of Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities. Even under that law, there are many avenues for relief. The enactment of a single law carries great significance. These remarks, in reverse, demonstrate the need for a comprehensive anti-discrimination law. A worker who was a refugee from Yemen was called ‘terrorist’ and told ‘get back to your country’ by a colleague; when he appealed to his boss, he was told, ‘Endure it. The Republic of Krea is a country that does not even have the term racial discrimination.’ It was not factually wrong, but it was deeply painful. The people who made the country that way are politicians. They must do better.”

-What should President Lee, who sparked controversy with his remarks, do at this point?

Hong= “First, he must resolve the current situation. President Lee should not merely say he had no intent of hate or discrimination; he needs to show it through action. He should meet migrant workers and members of multicultural families directly, listen to their hardships, and declare the government’s determination to actively prevent discrimination and human rights violations. The president himself must correct the recent tone. If he not only expresses regret but shows action, it could foster an atmosphere that ‘migrant workers and multicultural families are also members of the community.’ If support systems need improvement, it is not too late to pursue that afterward.”

Choi= “I agree. No matter how much the Senior Secretary for Listening and Integration at the presidential office meets with immigrant support groups and listens, a matter that began with the president’s words will not subside. The president has attended to migrant worker human rights violations and has not pretended not to know multicultural family policies. Rather than doing something new, if he would attend to what was already being done, misunderstandings could be resolved and the discussion could begin anew. The ‘roadmap for preventing human rights violations’ that the Ministry of Employment and Labor said it would announce early this year is also at a standstill.”

Professor Hong Sung-soo of Sookmyung Women’s University, who has studied minority rights and issues of hate (left), and Attorney Choi Jeong-gyu of Law Firm Wongok, who has represented socially vulnerable groups including migrant workers, pose for photographs before their conversation on the 10th at the Kyunghyang Shinmun in Jung-gu, Seoul. Moon Jae-won, reporter

-What should our society discuss urgently regarding multicultural families and migrant workers?

Choi= “On migrant worker issues, the current government’s stance is that the labor visa regime is too complex. The Employment Permit System that began in 2004 has been in place for 20 years, but migrant labor policy has been a short-term circulation policy. The visa systemseasonal workers, skilled workers, non-professional employment, and so onwas damaged under the Yoon administration. Unless this is improved, we cannot change the structure in which, as the president seems to think, good jobs for nationals are not created and migrant workers keep being brought in as relief pitchers for poor jobs. President Lee should not have talked about migrant workers’ ‘contribution’ but rather should have said, ‘We failed in visa policy.’ What does not help the Korean economy is not migrant workers but Korea’s visa policy. In the end, the government failed, and I believe it is stoking fear and hate toward immigrants to cover this up.”

Hong= “There is ample room for constructive discussionabout labor shortages in rural areas and poor working conditions, and about preventing human rights violations against migrant workers. In such discussions, the rights of nationals and immigrants do not necessarily clash. If there are design flaws in support policies for multicultural families, they should of course be revised. It is always necessary to define effective beneficiaries and eligibility and to design policies with precision. But is this an issue to be abruptly made into a political flashpoint by looking at a single online post and saying, ‘Thank you for the good point’? I would like to ask the reverse. Ordinarily, policies are improved after sufficient investigation and review. Why are issues concerning migrant workers and multicultural families raised in this way? Ensuring that migrant workers are treated fairly and that multicultural families settle in well is important not only for those groups but for our society’s progress toward being a better society. I hope a politician emerges who presents the vision that a society without hate, discrimination, and exclusion is the path for all members of the communityand wins support for it.”

-If a political sphere sensitive to votes does not move actively on issues of discrimination and hate, what other alternatives are there?

Hong= “In overseas cases of hate spreading, the role of politicians ultimately proved critical. Prejudices or anxieties that existed in society were often amplified by politicians’ words and actions, developing into hostility toward particular groups. We cannot simply wait for politicians to wake up. Civil society must consistently monitor and criticize politicians’ remarks. Recently, bills have also been prepared to regulate hate speech to some extent in the remarks of politicians and senior officials. Through such efforts, we must quickly block the worst outcomes. Hate is not something that can be eradicated, but if we are to keep it within a controllable range, this may be the last chance.”

Choi= “At the time of Park Jin-jae’s ‘private arrests,’ the police initially failed to respond properly, but the labor union at Daegu’s Seongseo Industrial Complex took up the fight, leading to arrest and punishment. When politicians used disability-insulting expressions like ‘one-eyed policy,’ civil society organizations filed anti-discrimination suits on behalf of people with disabilities. Although they lost at the Supreme Court, the use of such expressions sharply declined afterward. The world changes through the power of people who feel that a problem is not ‘someone else’s problem’ but ‘a neighbor’s problem.’ Responses to discrimination and hate inevitably begin from there. If such cases accumulate, the social climate may change as well.”