Korea launched, Monday, a new agency tasked with overseeing affairs related to 7.5 million Koreans living abroad. President Yoon Suk Yeol said he hopes the Overseas Koreans Agency will strengthen networks between Koreans here and abroad to promote mutual growth and prosperity.
The new agency, headquartered in Incheon and under the wing of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will replace the Overseas Koreans Foundation based on Jeju Island.
Staffed with 151 employees, the Overseas Koreans Agency will provide integrated services for Koreans overseas regarding visas, military service, taxes and pension entitlements, offering more assistance than the previous organization that focused more on cultural exchanges.
The opening ceremony was held in Songdo, Incheon, where the main gateway to the country, Incheon International Airport, is located. The participants included Yoon, Lee Key-cheol, the inaugural head of the agency, Foreign Minister Park Jin, Incheon Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok, as well as members of various overseas Korean communities. Some 600 Koreans living abroad joined the event online.
“Incheon, where the ship carrying the first immigrants heading to Hawaii departed 120 years ago, is the historical root of overseas Koreans. It feels overwhelming to announce the launch of the Overseas Koreans Agency here in Incheon. The establishment of the agency will serve as an opportunity for Incheon to leap forward as a global city,” Yoon said in his commemorative speech.
He noted that the launch of the agency aligns with his campaign promise to better support Koreans living abroad and enhance relations with their homeland.
The president stressed that helping Koreans in foreign countries will be one of the top priorities of the agency, adding that there are plans to invite to Seoul in the near future Korean victims of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in 1945. During his recent visit to Hiroshima in May, Yoon met a group of victims of the bombing, where he offered apologies as the head of state.
“We should also pay more attention to second and third generations of overseas Koreans who were not born here. For them, we will offer quality Korean language education programs and opportunities to visit Korea,” he said.
Park, for his part, vowed that his ministry will make every effort to better protect the rights of overseas Koreans.
“Through the launch of the Overseas Koreans Agency, we will be able to strengthen policies for overseas Koreans based on their needs,” he said.
The minister also explained that the port city of Incheon was selected as the agency’s headquarters based on convenience, accessibility to overseas Koreans, as well as balanced regional development and consistency in the administrative structure. He noted that a service assistance center also opened in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul.
Meanwhile, on the same day, the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs was upgraded from a sub-ministry status to a full-fledged ministry, in line with Yoon’s campaign pledges. The current head of the ministry, Park Min-shik, was reappointed to continue his leadership role in the upgraded organization.
“Marking the first year of the establishment of a full-fledged Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs, we will restart with a new determination to ensure that Korea is a country where people who made sacrifices for the nation are respected,” Park said during the inauguration ceremony held at the ministry in Government Complex Sejong.
He renewed his pledges to create a new park in Seoul’s Yongsan District honoring fallen heroes, similar to the National Mall in Washington, D.C. while improving welfare services for veterans and their families.
