{
  "id": 16867419,
  "title": "Lee's migrant worker remarks fall short of embracing Korea's growing diversity",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/28/lees-migrant-worker-remarks-fall-short-of-embracing-koreas-growing-16867419",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-28T07:47:03.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Korea Times",
    "slug": "the-korea-times-koreatimes",
    "url": "https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/southkorea/politics/20261028/lees-migrant-worker-remarks-fall-short-of-embracing-koreas-growing-diversity"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "President Lee Jae Myung made remarks on Tuesday stating that migrant workers do not \"contribute much to the national economy\" because they send their earnings abroad. Upon receiving criticism following his comments during a Cabinet meeting, he emphasized a word that was absent from a newspaper headline - \"much.\" However, adding that word does not resolve the fundamental issue of whether the president perceives foreign workers as part of Korea's growing diversity or primarily judges their value based on where they spend their income.\n\nDuring the discussion, Lee instructed officials to contemplate offering wage subsidies to entice Korean workers into sectors such as agriculture, forestry, livestock farming, and fisheries. He argued, \"For national security reasons, we must sustain agriculture, forestry, livestock farming and fisheries.\" He further contended, \"Bringing in foreign workers doesn't contribute much to the national economy because they send all their earnings home.\"\n\nUpon The Hankyoreh, a local daily newspaper, reporting migrant rights groups' criticisms, Lee demanded a correction and apology due to the omission of \"much\" in the headline. The newspaper subsequently rectified the error by adding the word. The president, however, did not provide further clarification on his stance regarding the integration of foreign workers into Korea's increasingly diverse society.",
  "summary": "President Lee Jae Myung said Tuesday that migrant workers don’t “contribute much to the national economy” because they send their earnings home. When criticism followed his remarks at a Cabinet meeting, he focused on a word missing from a newspaper headline — “much.” But restoring that word does little to address the larger question of whether the president sees foreign workers as members of…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Yonhap News",
        "title": "PPP slams defense minister over remarks on trusting U.S. forces in event of war with N. Korea",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/28/ppp-slams-defense-minister-over-remarks-on-trusting-u-s-forces-in",
        "published": "2026-10-28T04:37:32.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}