Korean province apologizes to Vietnamese people after ‘import young foreign women’ remark draws backlash

Jindo County Gov. Kim Hee-soo speaks at a town hall meeting at Haenam Culture and Arts Center in Haenam, South Jeolla Province, on Wednesday. Captured from Mokpo MBC’s YouTube channel.

South Jeolla Province issued a formal apology to the Vietnamese public after Jindo County Gov. Kim Hee-soo sparked backlash by suggesting “importing Vietnamese women” to address population decline.

In a statement released under the provincial spokesperson’s name Saturday, the province said it “sincerely bows its head in apology to the Vietnamese people and women,” adding that the use of terms such as "import" “undermines human dignity, objectifies women and cannot be justified under any circumstances.”

The comments contradict South Jeolla’s stated commitment to human rights, gender equality and multicultural inclusion, the statement said. The province also emphasized Vietnam’s importance to the region, noting that many residents of Vietnamese origin have settled in the province and are valued members of local communities.

The controversy stems from remarks Kim made during a town hall meeting on Wednesday on measures to counter regional population decline.

“If it comes down to it, we have to import young unmarried women from places like Sri Lanka or Vietnam, arrange marriages for rural bachelors and prepare other special measures,” he said.

The remarks were broadcast live by local media, prompting criticism that they reduced foreign women to tools and damaged national dignity.

Kim issued an apology the following day as criticism mounted, saying he had used inappropriate language while attempting to address policy approaches to foreign labor inflows and marriage migration amid labor shortages in rural areas.

However, according to officials familiar with the matter, the Vietnamese Embassy in Seoul sent an official letter to South Jeolla Province and Jindo County on Friday, lodging a strong protest over Kim’s remarks.

The province said it would use the incident as an opportunity to strengthen education on human rights, gender awareness and multicultural understanding across society.

“We will reinforce internal oversight and prevention systems to ensure discriminatory language or conduct does not recur, while reminding public officials of their responsibilities and the impact of public statements,” it added.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.