Yoon Sang-hyun says Lee Jae Myung is using multicultural families as a wedge issue

People Power Party lawmaker Yoon Sang-hyun said President Lee Jae Myung is using multicultural families as "sacrificial victims of division politics."

Yoon made the remarks Sunday in a Facebook post, saying he was troubled by Lee's recent conduct.

"For several days now, the president has personally raised the issue of priority access to postpartum care centers for multicultural families and called for a review of the system," Yoon said. "Yet among the 361 mothers who used Seoul's public postpartum care centers, only 10 — just 2.8 percent — were from multicultural families. Multicultural families are simply classified as second priority, alongside recipients of national merit awards. It has not even been confirmed how many ordinary mothers actually lost access as a result."

Yoon said fairness in the system was a legitimate subject for debate, but questioned whether it warranted the president's direct and sustained attention. "Is this really so urgent and significant that it deserves to be elevated to a top national policy agenda for three days running?" Yoon said.

Yoon also cited remarks Lee made at a Cabinet meeting suggesting that foreign workers do not contribute much to the national economy. "When controversy arose, the administration explained the comment was a comparison of economic contributions between domestic and foreign workers," Yoon said. "But should the role of foreign workers — who sustain our farming, fishing and small and medium-sized enterprises — be reduced to the question of remittances? Expanding domestic employment and respecting foreign workers are goals that can coexist. President Lee must make clear how he intends to reconcile the two."

Yoon said it was striking that a Democratic Party government, which had long championed diversity and inclusion, now had its president personally amplifying minority-preference controversies that originated in online communities. "Listening to the voices of youth is only natural," Yoon said. "But hostility toward specific groups must not become a driving force of governance."

"Is it truly fair governance to place a specific minority group at the center of controversy without first examining how much actual disadvantage has occurred?" Yoon said. "A president is not someone who stokes conflict — a president is someone who mediates conflict and unites the people."

Yoon added that national unity could never be achieved through politics that divides the public. "If you want to speak of fairness, verify the facts first, and be wary of making the vulnerable a target of political controversy," Yoon said.