President Lee Jae Myung has ordered the Ministry of Health and Welfare to investigate whether Korean Red Cross President Kim Chul-soo made racist remarks toward several foreign ambassadors in Seoul.

Presidential spokesperson Kim Nam-joon said in a press release Friday that Lee had strongly condemned Kim Chul-soo’s alleged remarks and instructed ministries to come up with measures to root out what he called "antisocial" behaviors.

Earlier, a local media outlet reported that Kim had made racist comments after a 2023 Red Cross gala attended by ambassadors from seven nations, including Angola, India, the Czech Republic, and Sri Lanka.

While urging his officials to invite ambassadors from major countries to future events, the Red Cross chief allegedly described the gala's attendees as "no one special" and complained that there were only those with "dark-skinned faces."

Lee emphasized that any form of discrimination or hate speech based on race, ethnicity, nationality or region is a serious antisocial act that undermines the national community, according to his spokesperson.