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| President Yoon Suk Yeol, left, enters a meeting of a special immigrant policy committee under the Presidential Committee for National Cohesion at the presidential office in Seoul, May 17. Yonhap |
President Yoon Suk Yeol said Wednesday the growing number of immigrants in the country has raised the need for Korea to come up with immigrant policies fit for its status as a "global pivotal state."
Yoon made the remark during a meeting of a special immigrant policy committee under the Presidential Committee for National Cohesion, saying the number of immigrants doubled from 1.27 million in 2011 to 2.52 million in 2019 before dropping slightly during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The number of immigrants currently stands at 2.34 million, he said.
"Despite such growth in the number of immigrants, our social perceptions have still not changed properly," Yoon said.
"I also think that because of the many restrictions they face in their role as members of society, which is needed to induce changes in social perceptions, immigrants themselves have made efforts that are far lacking or have not had the opportunity to properly do so," he added.
Yoon said Korea aims to become a "global pivotal state" through "responsible diplomacy" and "diplomacy that contributes" to the international community, leading the world to take a large interest in how Korea legally and institutionally treats its immigrants.
"I think we should have policies that are not shameful anywhere in the international community and fit for our role and status as a global pivotal state," he said.
The meeting was attended by experts and seven immigrants from seven countries, including Vietnam, Myanmar, Russia and Argentina.
The committee plans to draw up policy proposals for immigrant integration by next month. (Yonhap)
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