Immigrant advocates and migrants living in Korea criticized President Lee Jae Myung on Tuesday for what they described as a series of comments targeting immigrants and fueling anti-immigrant sentiment.
They made the remarks at a press conference in front of Cheong Wa Dae in central Seoul.
Questioning whether Lee's comments reflect the realities migrants face in Korea, the participants called on the president to address shortcomings in the country's immigration and welfare systems that contribute to the problems he has cited.
"(A president's) comments are not just an individual's opinion. Rather, they are a political signal about whom society allows in and whom it excludes," said Park Dong-chan, director of the migration advocacy group 3rd Voice Laboratory, who is also ethnic Korean from China.
"Now, the perception that benefits for immigrants should be reduced to protect those of Korean nationals is spreading unchecked. The president should take responsibility for this."
The protest followed an online dispute between the president and his critics over the status of immigrants in Korea.
Since Oct. 28, Lee has published multiple posts on his X account warning that local governments' welfare programs could provide excessive benefits to families comprising a Korean national and a marriage migrant.
Despite criticism that his remarks could fuel prejudice, Lee defended his position on social media, warning that unconditional support for multicultural policies could backfire and arguing against what he described as political correctness.
Protestors said that Lee's repeated public comments have stigmatized immigrants as people who take advantage of Korea's welfare system, despite what they described as limited evidence of widespread abuse of preferential policies.
Some pointed to a Seoul Metropolitan Government program that subsidizes the use of postpartum care centers. Lee had cited the benefit in his X posts as a possible example of reverse discrimination against Korean nationals.
Since the program launched in June, multicultural families — which have priority in the application process alongside people with disabilities, North Korean defectors and families of national merit recipients — accounted for just 2.8 percent of users as of September, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Government.
Narantuya, a marriage migrant activist from Mongolia, argued that authorities had instead pressured migrants to accept benefits they did not need.
"When I said I did not want to participate in programs at a multicultural family support center, an official pressured me to take part, saying, 'The speaker came here with benevolent intentions toward multicultural families,'" Narantuya said.
"While turning a blind eye to support that people actually need, the authorities force unwanted assistance on them and now talk about special privileges, making multicultural families appear to be the main cause of waste."
Participants also called on Lee to apologize for remarks he made about migrant workers' contributions to the domestic economy during a Cabinet meeting on Oct. 27. He cited the remittance of part of their wages to their home countries as a reason he believes they do not contribute substantially to the Korean economy.
Immigrant advocates and migrants said the remarks overlooked the efforts and risks taken on by migrant workers in sectors that Korean nationals tend to avoid.
"The current system for migrant workers is designed as a short-term, revolving-door model that restricts family accompaniment and long-term stays. Remitting part of their earnings to their home countries is a structural consequence of this system," said Lee Jae-san, an official at the Joint Committee of Migrants in Korea.
"Criticizing them as making little contribution to the national economy ignores the problems inherent in the system itself."
Meanwhile, Lee defended his scrutiny of migrant support programs again at a Cabinet meeting Tuesday, saying that benefits without a reasonable basis could undermine public trust in the system and give anti-immigrant groups ammunition to fuel hatred.
