The controversy began during a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, when Lee discussed labor shortages in the agricultural sector and suggested that employing foreign workers did not significantly benefit the national economy because much of their earnings were sent overseas.
Lee also proposed exploring government wage subsidies to encourage South Koreans to take agricultural jobs, arguing that better compensation could help attract domestic workers to an industry increasingly reliant on foreign labor.
The remarks drew criticism from labor unions and migrant rights organizations, which argued that migrant workers play an essential role in sustaining agricultural production and other labor-intensive industries.
Official statistics also challenge the suggestion that foreign workers send most of their earnings abroad. According to the National Data Agency's statistical data, foreign residents spent 37.3 percent of their income on living expenses and 11.9 percent on housing, while domestic and overseas remittances accounted for 25.5 percent.
The debate widened on Wednesday when Lee raised questions about preferential treatment for multicultural families at publicly supported postpartum care facilities.
In a social media post, Lee said his administration would review whether preferential arrangements for multicultural families remained necessary, including the possibility of revising regulations in consultation with local governments.
Under South Korea's Mother and Child Health Act enforcement decree, mothers from multicultural families are among several groups eligible for priority access or fee reductions at public postpartum care centers. Other eligible groups include low-income households, single mothers and families of national veterans, although specific benefits vary by municipality.
In Seoul's publicly supported postpartum care program, mothers from multicultural families are placed in the second priority category alongside several other groups, while recipients of basic livelihood assistance and near-poor households receive first priority.
The remarks raised concerns among migrant rights advocates that questioning support for multicultural families could reinforce discrimination against households already facing social and linguistic barriers.
On Thursday, the presidential office sought to clarify Lee's position, saying his remarks on migrant workers and multicultural families concerned two separate policy issues.
Senior presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said the president's comments on agricultural employment were primarily intended to address inadequate compensation and the need to create better-paying jobs in farming and fisheries.
Regarding multicultural families, Kang said the administration was not seeking to abolish support but to review whether priority access to postpartum care facilities was being administered fairly.
Lee also defended his position on Thursday, saying that policies designed to prevent discrimination against multicultural families should continue but should not result in excessive preferential treatment or reverse discrimination against other households.
The controversy has also drawn differing responses from lawmakers.
Rep. Kim Nam-joon of the ruling Democratic Party (DP), one of Lee's closest political allies, defended the president's decision to raise the issues.
"I believe he has put issues on the agenda that our society needs to deliberate on," Kim told AJP.
Rep. Choi Soo-jin of the opposition People Power Party (PPP), however, questioned the factual basis of Lee's assessment of migrant workers' economic contributions, citing the country's demographic decline and labor shortages.
"As the population declines, so does the workforce. Without migrant workers, small and medium-sized businesses in particular would struggle," Choi told AJP.
"The numbers speak for themselves. I simply cannot understand what evidence he is basing those remarks on," she added.
South Korea has increasingly relied on migrant workers to fill vacancies in agriculture, manufacturing and other industries as its working-age population declines.
The number of employed foreign nationals reached approximately 1.11 million in May 2025, an increase of about 99,000 from a year earlier, according to government data.
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