According to VNA, the Vietnamese Embassy in Korea on February 6 sent an official letter expressing its opinion on the statement of contempt for Vietnamese women by the Chairman of Jindo District, South Jeolla Province.
Jindo District Chairman Kim Hee Soo at an official government talk said that it is necessary to implement special measures in the population issue such as "importing young girls from Sri Lanka or Vietnam to marry rural youth".
This statement, published in Korean media in the past 2 days, has caused a stir in Korean public opinion and the Vietnamese community, criticizing this statement as showing a serious lack of human rights awareness, multiculturalism and gender sensitivity.
In a letter sent to the Governor of Nam Jeolla province and Jindo district, the Vietnamese Embassy stated clearly that the Government and people of Vietnam have been building friendly, cooperative and equal relations between the two countries and two peoples for more than 30 years, and the comprehensive strategic partnership between Vietnam and Korea has also achieved great results.
The Vietnamese community in Korea has been making very important contributions to this process. These are undeniable results.
The Diplomatic Note of the Vietnamese Embassy emphasized: Respecting the dignity and honor of citizens, especially women, is a common value, asset and principle of the two nations of Vietnam and Korea.
The Government and people of Vietnam acknowledge and highly appreciate the efforts of the Government and people of Korea in protecting, promoting and promoting the dignity of women in general and Vietnamese women in particular.
South Jeolla province has a long tradition of tolerance, respect and openness. The Vietnamese community in Korea in general, and in South Jeolla in particular, considers this province a good destination to build life and realize their dreams.
In this process, respecting and promoting the dignity and honor of women must once again be put first. Therefore, offensive language, inappropriate speech, using inappropriate words from anyone, such as the phrase "importing Vietnamese women" is an act that needs to be seriously recognized, true to its nature and corrected in a spirit of receptiveness.
The Vietnamese Embassy believes that through acknowledging mistakes and correcting them with specific actions, reality will help build trust, behave healthily and further strengthen the Vietnam-Korea comprehensive strategic partnership in the future.
Joongang Ilbo newspaper on the morning of February 6 reported that Jindo District Chairman Kim Hee Soo apologized for using the word "imported" to describe women from a specific country when referring to the issue of population decline.
Mr. Kim Hee Soo explained that the speech was only aimed at highlighting structural issues about the serious decline in population and the decline in marriage and childbirth rates in rural areas.
He affirmed that it was not intended to degrade or disregard any specific country or individual and "apologizes to anyone who may be offended by these statements".
