Cheong Wa Dae Meets Migrant Worker Groups; Participants: "Concerned About Spread of Anti-Migrant Sentiment"

Roundtable chaired by Senior Secretary for Listening and Integration Jeon Seonghwan
Calls for improvements to unpaid wages and immigration conditions
On-the-ground dialogue amid President Lee Jae Myung’s social media controversy
Cheong Wa Dae: "Discussing institutional improvements to protect vulnerable groups"

Amid ongoing debate over President Lee Jae-myung’s social media remarks about foreign workers and multicultural families, Cheong Wa Dae has begun gathering input from migrant workers and civil society representatives. Participants shared difficulties in the field, including unpaid wages and living and immigration conditions, and voiced concern about the spread of hostility toward social minorities, including migrants. Cheong Wa Dae said it would discuss ways to improve institutions to protect vulnerable groups on the basis of fairness and reasonableness.

Jeon Seonghwan, Senior Secretary for Listening and Integration at Cheong Wa Dae, held a policy meeting on current issues concerning migrant workers on the 3rd.

Cheong Wa Dae said on November 3 that Senior Secretary for Listening and Integration Jeon Seonghwan had chaired a policy roundtable on issues concerning migrant workers. The meeting was attended by migrant workers themselves, as well as representatives from support groups and civil society organizations, including Migrant Workers Equality Solidarity, the Migrant Women Human Rights Center, and Lawyers for a Democratic Society.

Participants shared problems migrant workers face in their workplaces and daily lives regarding labor and immigration conditions, and called for institutional improvements. Key topics included gaps in welfare support for multicultural families, unpaid wages, issues affecting seasonal agricultural workers, and the protection of migrant women’s rights.

Participants expressed particular concern that hostility toward minorities, including migrants, is spreading throughout society. They urged the government to clearly recognize this trend and develop practical measures to address it.

The roundtable drew attention because it took place amid ongoing debate over foreign workers’ economic contributions and the fairness of policies supporting multicultural families, following the President’s recent social media remarks.

On October 27, the President raised the issue of foreign workers’ economic contributions, and on October 28, he questioned the criteria giving multicultural families priority access to public postpartum care centers. As controversy over policies supporting multicultural families spread, he repeatedly said that the irrationalities of the system needed to be reviewed. In the process, he also criticized what he called the “hypocrisy” and “double standards” of political correctness (PC).

Cheong Wa Dae did not separately explain whether the roundtable was a follow-up to the President’s social media remarks. At the meeting, Senior Secretary Jeon said, “Issues concerning migrant workers have also been discussed as a key topic at regional civil society meetings,” adding, “We will actively listen to voices from the field and maintain ongoing communication to ensure that institutional gaps do not arise.”

Cheong Wa Dae proposed that the government, those directly affected, and civil society work together to discuss institutional improvements that would provide robust protection for vulnerable groups in accordance with the principles of fairness and reasonableness. It said it would use the roundtable as an opportunity to continue assessing the realities facing migrants and multicultural families and to maintain communication so that input from the field can inform policy improvements.

The Office of the Senior Secretary for Listening and Integration at Cheong Wa Dae responds to issues involving civil society and historical matters. In November last year, it also held a policy proposal roundtable on ensuring the human and labor rights of migrant workers.

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