President Lee Jae-myung: Economic growth means nothing if it costs lives
As long as people continue to die at industrial worksites, economic growth is meaningless — that is the declaration now on the table. President Lee Jae-myung recently stressed that "even if the economy grows and the nation develops, it means nothing if workers lose their lives on the job," elevating industrial safety to the top priority of state affairs. In the same vein, he repeatedly underscored the need to protect foreign workers, with the presidential office reporting that "foreign leaders are echoing the president's commitment to protecting migrant workers."
A Turning Point Signaled by Migrant Worker Policy
The president's remarks are being read not merely as a safety campaign but as a signal of a fundamental shift in labor policy. Until now, foreign workers have largely been treated as a stopgap for the structural labor demands of low-wage manufacturing, farming and livestock, and construction. Under the Employment Permit System, restrictions on changing workplaces have long been criticized for forcing workers to bear the risk of illegal employment. The fact that the president himself has raised the issue of repeated workplace deaths carries a different weight, placing the social costs beyond growth figures squarely on the political agenda.
The presidential office's mention of "foreign leaders echoing" the president is also noteworthy. With the domestic labor supply shrinking structurally due to population decline and aging, foreign labor has become a necessity, not a choice. The president's earlier comment that "being unable to exercise voting rights is a serious problem" follows the same logic, signaling that the debate has moved into the realm of political rights for long-term foreign residents and residents with migrant backgrounds.
Revisiting Preferential Treatment for Multicultural Families: Seeds of Controversy
Yet the direction is not entirely consistent. President Lee said he would "review whether preferential policies for multicultural families, such as those implemented by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, should be abolished." Given that some view multicultural family support as reverse discrimination, any adjustment could spark backlash from conservatives. Meanwhile, his calls for stronger protection of foreign workers align with the progressive camp's base of support. The coexistence of both positions within one government suggests that the policy balance on immigration and multiculturalism has yet to be struck.
The debate over the president's communication style, including his social media use, is another variable. Rep. Jung Seong-ho publicly advised that "it might be good for the president to cut back a little on social media." The key question, amid the controversy over communication styles that spread after the foreign worker remarks, is whether policy messages will move beyond instant social media consumption into institutionalized discourse.
Linking Workplace Safety and Labor Policy
The core of the president's message is that it frames workplace safety and migrant labor policy within a single agenda. With thousands of workers dying each year in industrial accidents, pursuing special inspections of workplaces with high fatality rates alongside protections for migrant workers would generate policy synergy — since foreign workers are the most exposed to the blind spots of industrial safety oversight.
Success, however, will hinge on effectiveness. Critics say the commitment to safety must translate into concrete tasks: reforming the Employment Permit System, resolving the structure that drives illegal employment, and expanding workplace inspection personnel. If it remains at the level of slogans, criticism from labor and civil society will be hard to avoid. The precedent of 11 labor and civic groups demanding the withdrawal of the mega special economic zone bill shows that the gap between the government and civil society on labor issues is not narrow.
President Lee's decision to summon senior Democratic Party lawmakers with four or five terms in the National Assembly to the presidential office — urging them that "the role of the ruling party is crucial" — is also significant. Legislation on foreign worker protection and industrial safety is directly tied to the ruling party's ability to manage the National Assembly schedule. How quickly workplace safety bills move through the regular session will serve as a yardstick for this government's resolve.
Ultimately, the vision this government pursues is clear: a state that places the fruits of growth and development on top of the lives and safety of those who work. Its success will be judged not by grand declarations, but by whether the number of people injured or killed at worksites actually declines. For now, only the first sentence of that judgment has been written.
