President Lee Jae-myung said on the 28th that he would examine the need for a system that gives multicultural families priority in booking public postpartum care centers, the Kyunghyang Shinmun reported. He indicated the enforcement decree could be revised in consultation with local governments if necessary.
According to the Kyunghyang Shinmun, Lee shared a post from the online community FM Korea on X on the 28th and wrote that he would review whether there is a strong need to go as far as giving multicultural families preference. The post criticized the fact that in Seoul's safe postpartum center booking order, mothers from multicultural families are placed in the second tier alongside national merit recipients and multi-child households. Mothers of twins are in the third tier.
광고 문의 · 300×250Context of the president's remarks
The paper said it was the first time since taking office that Lee had cited a post from that community. At the cabinet meeting the day before, discussing rural labor shortages, he said foreign workers do not help the national economy much. He later explained on X that he meant remittance-sending foreign workers contribute less than domestic workers do, and demanded a correction and apology over a Hankyoreh headline.
Mixed reactions
Experts were critical. According to the Kyunghyang Shinmun, Prof. Hong Sung-soo of Sookmyung Women's University said the remarks are hard to justify, and a Justice Party spokesperson warned they could encourage discrimination against migrant workers. A presidential aide, Ryu Deok-hyun, explained that the remarks had been taken out of context.
The paper also offered reference figures: a 2025 government survey found foreigners sent 25.5 percent of their total income abroad, and the Migration Policy Institute estimated foreign workers' economic impact at 162 trillion won this year. No decision has been made on ending the preference or on a decree revision timetable, and the president's comment remains at the review stage.
