Geoje council member in hot water over xenophobic hate speech

(Geoje City Council)

A city council member in Geoje, South Gyeongsang Province, is facing intensifying criticism after making the discriminatory remark that one out of 10 Vietnamese in Korea is a drug user.

Yang Tae-seok, a member of the Geoje City Council from the People Power Party, made such remarks during a city council meeting held to discuss a new ordinance to support foreign workers’ labor environment on April 20. Expressing his negative stance on the ordinance, Yang said, "One out of 10 Vietnamese (who is in Korea) takes drugs. Foreigners, especially Vietnamese, are not being managed and the police are just sitting there and doing nothing."

"What will happen to the image of tourism of our city if groups of foreigners wander around in their slippers, spitting everywhere?" Yang continued.

The opposition party immediately slammed Yang and demanded an apology. The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea's South Gyeongsang Provincial Party issued a statement on Monday saying, "The bare face of a ruling People Power Party politician who does not even apologize and reflect over his outdated racism has been revealed. The remark is an insult and demeaning to all foreign workers and those of multicultural backgrounds," the statement read.

The opposition party also stressed that workers of foreign nationality have become a crucial part of South Korean Society, saying “Foreign workers are key members of various industries such as agriculture, fishing, shipbuilding and machinery in Geoje, South Gyeongsang Province and many other local provinces. They are also living with us as neighbors and members of multicultural families .”

The minor opposition Justice Party's South Gyeongsang Provincial Party also blasted Yang's comments, "It is shocking that such harsh discrimination and hate speech were made from a public official’s mouth while dealing with an ordinance to improve the labor environment for foreign workers."