He used a Korean term referring to young or unmarried women while discussing ways to address depopulation in rural areas.

The remarks quickly triggered backlash at home and abroad, sparking condemnation from diplomats, women's groups and migrant communities.

On Feb. 9, the ruling Democratic Party of Korea expelled Kim, with party spokesperson Park Soo-hyun saying the decision by the party’s Supreme Council was unanimous due to the derogatory nature of the remarks.

Last week, the Embassy of Vietnam in South Korea sent protest letters to South Jeolla Province and Jindo County, calling the language offensive and dehumanizing.

"The remarks have already caused outrage and offense within the Vietnamese community in Korea and continue to generate controversy and concern," the embassy said in a statement, urging authorities to take the matter seriously, apologize and take corrective action over the phrase "importing women from Vietnam."

The statement added that Vietnamese residents in South Jeolla Province had long viewed the region as a safe and trustworthy place to build their lives, stressing that Vietnam and South Korea have spent more than three decades developing ties based on friendship, cooperation and equality.

"In that context, respect for women's dignity and honor must remain the top priority," it said, adding that acknowledging wrongdoing and taking concrete action would help rebuild trust and strengthen the Vietnam-Korea comprehensive strategic partnership.

In South Korea, about 100 women's rights, migrant and civic groups also condemned Kim's remarks in a joint statement, saying they treated immigrant women not as individuals with agency but as tools to address depopulation through marriage and childbirth.

The groups said the comments ignored the harsh realities faced by migrant women, citing data from the Jeonnam Migrant Women's Counseling Center showing a steady rise in violence-related consultations in the province: from 2,960 cases in 2023 to 4,064 in 2024 and 4,686 in 2025.

According to South Korea’s Ministry of Justice, Vietnamese women made up about 25% of the country’s 146,000 marriage-visa holders in 2024.

Following the backlash, Kim and South Jeolla Province both issued public apologies. Kim said he had used "inappropriate language" while trying to emphasize the need for policy responses to depopulation and expressed regret for causing "misunderstanding and discomfort."

South Jeolla Province also apologized to Vietnam and the Vietnamese people, saying it would strengthen human rights and gender-sensitivity training to prevent similar incidents.

"Expressions such as ‘import’ undermine human dignity and objectify women, and can never be justified," the province said. "They run counter to the values South Jeolla has pursued: respect for human rights, gender equality and multicultural inclusion."

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