President Lee on Multicultural Controversy: "Reverse Discrimination Must Be Corrected... We Should Consider Why People Resent Double Standards"

"Support for multicultural families is necessary"
"Acknowledging flawed parts will strengthen support for the whole"
"Don't avoid controversy; debate openly"

President Lee Jae-myung said on October 31 that while he recognizes the need to support multicultural families, policies that are unreasonable or create reverse discrimination should be corrected. He made the remarks amid controversy over support policies for multicultural families.

In a social media post that day, President Lee wrote, "The fact that a general argument is right does not mean that every specific argument is right." He added, "It is true that multicultural families need support, but that does not justify specific policies within the support system that are flawed because they are unreasonable or create reverse discrimination."

President Lee Jaemyung speaks. Yonhap News.

He continued, "We should also consider why people feel resentment toward remarks based on political correctness, double standards, or factionalism." He added, "Acknowledging and correcting the flawed 'part' will strengthen support for the necessary 'whole.'"

President Lee also stressed the need to publicly debate controversial issues. "The more sensitive an issue is, the less we should avoid it because it is controversial or leave it to those in power to decide behind closed doors. Instead, everyone should take part in bringing the issue to light and discussing it seriously," he said.

He added, "If something is wrong, it should be corrected, regardless of who is responsible, what it is, or which area it concerns." He said, "Defending even the flawed parts because they are on my side or concern a subject I have advocated for does not help solve the problem; it only makes it worse."

On October 28, President Lee had expressed his intention to review the need for preferential treatment and whether to abolish certain programs related to support for multicultural families. After concerns were raised, particularly among progressives, that support would be reduced and hatred would be fueled, he has continued to share his position on the matter through social media.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.