{"id":66587,"date":"2026-02-09T21:35:57","date_gmt":"2026-02-09T21:35:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/outrage-over-south-korean-officials-foreign-women-proposal"},"modified":"2026-02-09T22:28:02","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T22:28:02","slug":"outrage-over-south-korean-officials-foreign-women-proposal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/outrage-over-south-korean-officials-foreign-women-proposal","title":{"rendered":"Outrage Over South Korean Official’s Foreign Women Proposal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Lesotho. <\/strong> <\/span>A South Korean official who suggested the country “import young women” from “Vietnam or Sri Lanka” to boost its birth-rate has been expelled from his party.<\/p>\n

Kim Hee-soo, the head of the southern Jindo County, said the woman could be married off to “young men in rural areas” during a town hall last week.<\/p>\n

The suggestion comes as South Korea continues to grapple with the lowest birth-rates in the world, which could see the country’s 50 million-strong population drop by half in 60 years.<\/p>\n

But Kim’s statement, which was televised, did not go down well – triggering a diplomatic protest from Vietnam, days of public anger and his expulsion from the ruling Democratic Party.<\/p>\n

Attempts by Kim to defuse the outrage with an apology a day after the town hall appear to have failed.<\/p>\n

The town hall had been called to discuss a potential merger between the province where Jindo County is located and a nearby city – something regions with shrinking populations are looking at for administrative reasons.<\/p>\n

Kim said his comment had been intended to highlight population issues in rural regions but admitted the language he had used was “inappropriate”, local media reported.<\/p>\n

South Jeolla Province also issued a formal apology for Kim’s “inappropriate remarks”, which it said “has caused deep pain to Vietnamese people and to women”, local media reported.<\/p>\n

The Vietnamese Embassy in Seoul had condemned Kim’s remarks, saying in a statement on Facebook that his words were “not simply a matter of expression but a matter of values and attitudes towards migrant women and minority groups”.<\/p>\n

Sri Lanka authorities have not publicly addressed the controversy.<\/p>\n

The Democratic Party’s Supreme Council had voted unanimously to expel Kim, a party spokesperson told reporters on Monday.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, activists for women and migrant rights are reportedly planning to hold a rally in front of Jindo County Office on Tuesday over Kim’s comments.<\/p>\n

Find more news and analyses on Lesotho<\/span> on the Africa Press<\/span> website<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Lesotho. A South Korean official who suggested the country “import young women” from “Vietnam or Sri Lanka” to boost its birth-rate has been expelled from his party. Kim Hee-soo, the head of the southern Jindo County, said the woman could be married off to “young men in rural areas” during a town hall […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":66586,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,9],"tags":[245],"class_list":["post-66587","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-miscellaneous","tag-lesotho"],"yoast_head":"\nOutrage Over South Korean Official's Foreign Women Proposal - Lesotho<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"-article-header-tag"> Africa-Press - Lesotho. 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