Hwang Kyo-ahn, left, chairman of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, speaks in a meeting at the National Assembly in Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap



By Park Si-soo



Opposition leader Hwang Kyo-ahn on Thursday retreated on his controversial claim that the minimum wage of foreign workers should be reduced, saying it was to "criticize the government's move to increase the minimum wage rapidly, not to discriminate against foreign workers."



The chairman of the conservative Liberty Korea Party (LKP) said the true meaning of his remark had been delivered in an "absurdly twisted way." Hwang said South Korea "still needs more foreign workers."



This came a day after he raised the need to introduce a "different" minimum wage system for foreign workers at a meeting with CEOs of small and medium companies (SMEs) in Busan. He said foreign workers have "contributed nothing" to the country. "That's why I think it's unfair to subject Korean and foreign workers to the same wage system," he said.



Hwang faced an immediate backlash from the ruling bloc and workers who claimed the remarks had revealed his "outdated" perception of migrant workers and "hatred" of them. Legal experts said his comments explicitly run against the Labor Standards Act that bans all forms of discrimination on the basis of gender, nationality, religion and social status.



"The point of my comment was not to discriminate against foreign workers, but to fix the side effects of rapid hikes of the minimum wage," Hwang said. There was no word of apology or regret over his controversial remark.



He said SMEs already face an uphill battle to deal with increasing costs to hire foreign workers and minimum wage hikes make the situation worse.



"The situation is expected to improve to some extent this year but companies say more needs to be done," Hwang said. "After all, the major culprit is rapid hikes of the minimum wage. The government is responsible for this."



