Remarks made this week by a U.N. special rapporteur on racism and discrimination about related conditions in Korea seem to have been met with little interest from the public and media here. Not so many Koreans might agree with his rather critical position. But it would be unwise to ignore his views and suggestions, which deserve to be fully weighed by a Korean society facing challenges of adapting to increasing multiculturalism.

In Monday’s news conference wrapping up his eight-day visit here, Mutuma Ruteere, U.N. special rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, said the country has “serious problems” of racial discrimination. During his stay, Ruteere said, he found “incidents or problems that are serious enough to merit attention.”

The special rapporteur particularly mentioned the poor treatment of foreign migrant workers, especially in the agricultural and fishery industries, who he said face difficult working and living conditions, urging the government to conduct an inspection into their cases. He called on Korea to ratify the international convention on protecting the rights of migrant workers and their family members.

Ruteere, a 43-year-old Kenyan, conceded that Korea has made “important progress” in addressing the issue of racism and xenophobia, given its long history of ethnic and cultural homogeneity. But he said there have been racist or xenophobic cases at the individual level in the country.

He recommended continuous efforts to address the issue through better education, keeping appropriate statistics and improving domestic legislation. Specifically, he called for the enactment of a comprehensive antidiscrimination act.

Ruteere is supposed to submit a final report on his visit here to the U.N. Human Rights Council next year. Regardless of what will be mentioned in his report, Koreans should discard racist perceptions and attitudes to build a truly multicultural society, which is needed to ensure sustainable economic growth and social vitality in the future.

Korea has become the world’s seventh country whose per capita income exceeds $20,000 to see its population grow to 50 million. A growing number of migrant workers and other foreign residents here have contributed to the nation achieving these landmark figures. Their roles will be more essential to maintaining and advancing this status in the decades to come, especially in demographic terms.

Concerns are mounting that the world’s fastest-aging population, coupled with the lowest birthrate among major advanced countries, would lead to a shrinkage of the workforce and an increase in welfare and health spending, undercutting Korea’s economic and social dynamism.

Demographic experts note the population of foreign residents here, which has exceeded 1.3 million, needs to grow to more than 5 million by 2050 to keep the country on track for sustainable growth.

Government figures put the current number of immigrant workers in Korea at about 710,000, including some 170,000 with illicit status. Without them, it would be difficult or even impossible to run many farms, restaurants and small factories around the country. Migrant laborers, who usually work long hours under difficult conditions, should be regarded and treated as indispensable members of our society.

Efforts also need to be strengthened to eliminate or ease discrimination against multicultural families, which are expected to account for about 20 percent of all households within two decades. A government survey showed that the proportion of multicultural families experiencing social prejudice increased from 36.4 percent in 2009 to 41.3 percent in 2012.

It is shameful ― and detrimental to themselves ― for people to look down upon people with different backgrounds. It may be time for Korea to enact a law to make it possible to punish discriminative acts or words based on differences in appearance, religion, culture or language.

Koreans should recognize they can make their society a better and happier place to live in by discarding racism and embracing all migrant workers and multicultural families.