As international criticism mounted after the controversy over Miss Finland's gesture disparaging Asians spread with defenses from Finland's political circles, Prime Minister Petteri Orpo issued a formal apology to Korea, China and Japan.
According to Reuters and others on the 17th local time, Orpo issued a statement through embassies in each country and said, "I sincerely apologize for the offense caused by the inappropriate social media posts of some members of Parliament."
In particular, the Finnish Embassy in Korea released an apology in Korean, bowing its head and saying, "The post in question runs counter to Finland's core values of equality and inclusion."
The incident began last month when Miss Finland Sara Jaafche, 22, posted a "slant-eye" photo meaning disparagement of Asians on social media. Jaafche explained, "It was an unthinking action because of a headache," but the Miss Finland organizing committee stripped her of her title on the 11th, saying she "failed to fulfill her responsibility as a national representative."
The problem is that some in Finland's political sphere defended it, pouring fuel on the racism controversy. Members of Parliament from the hard-right Finns Party said it was "just taken for fun," changed their own social media profile photos to slant-eye images, or came out criticizing the organizing committee's decision.
In response to such behavior, embassies of various Asian countries were flooded with protests, and tangible damage occurred, including the suspension of a joint project between a Finnish production company and Japan. Orpo, therefore, stressed that "racism can never be tolerated" and said, "Together with the leaders of the government negotiating groups, we strongly condemn the insulting actions of some members of Parliament," focusing on resolving the situation.