The Democratic Party of Korea expelled Jindo County Governor Kim Hee-su, who sparked controversy with a remark calling to "import virgins from Sri Lanka or Vietnam."
Park Soo-hyun, the Democratic Party of Korea's chief spokesperson, told reporters after the supreme council meeting on Jan. 9 that "an emergency disciplinary action against Jindo County Governor Kim Hee-su has been approved," adding, "the expulsion was decided unanimously by all supreme council members."
Kim, the governor, argued at the Gwangju-Jeonnam administrative integration "traveling town hall meeting" held at the Haenam Culture and Arts Center on Jan. 4 that "when Gwangju and Jeonnam are integrated, if we cannot fully legislate measures on population extinction, we should import some young virgins from Sri Lanka or Vietnam and the like to marry off single men in rural areas."
As his remark drew controversy, Kim issued an apology on Jan. 5, explaining that "the comment pointed to the structural problems of severe population decline and the weakening of the marriage and childbirth base in fishing and farming regions, and, because industrial revitalization alone cannot solve population extinction, it was meant to argue that an active institutional response is needed at the level of the integrated Gwangju-Jeonnam local government and the state."
The Vietnamese Embassy in Korea sent a letter of protest to South Jeolla Province on Jan. 6, and the Democratic Party of Korea's National Women's Committee also issued a statement that day urging Kim, the governor, to step down voluntarily.