Seoul, Incheon at loggerheads over agency for overseas Koreans

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

National

Mon, October 2, 2023 | 20:34

Foreign Affairs

Seoul, Incheon at loggerheads over agency for overseas Koreans

Posted : 2023-05-04 16:48

Updated : 2023-05-05 16:03

Residents of Incheon hold a rally in front of Incheon City Hall, calling on the government to launch the new Overseas Korean Agency in the port city, March 6. Newsis

By Lee Hyo-jin

With only one month left ahead of the launch of a new government agency for overseas Koreans, all eyes are on where the organization will be established.

While various local municipalities have expressed hopes to host the new state-run agency in their region, the race is now narrowed down to the final two candidates ― Seoul and Incheon.

Members of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) and Foreign Minister Park Jin held a meeting on Thursday, for final discussions before an official announcement.

"We will select a city based on the discussions made during today's meeting, and then make the announcement as soon as possible after reviewing it with related organizations," a ministry official told The Korea Times, without providing further details on the exact timeline.

He denied that the ministry is endorsing either city, saying that the decision will be made based on various factors including accessibility for and convenience of overseas Koreans it serves, as well as overall public opinion.

Following the enactment of revision bills to the Government Organization Act that was signed by President Yoon Suk Yeol in March, a new government agency supporting overseas Koreans will be launched on June 5.

With a mission to handle the affairs of the 7.3 million-strong Korean diaspora around the world, the new state-run agency will be created under the wing of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with about 151 staff members, replacing the Overseas Koreans Foundation that is currently located on Jeju Island.

The government was initially planning to make the decision on where to establish the organization in mid-April, but the process has been delayed due to a failure to reach a conclusion in time.

Rep. Park Dae-chul, left, of the ruling People Power Party shakes hands with Foreign Minister Park Jin ahead of a meeting held at the National Assembly in Seoul, Thursday, to discuss the location of the soon-to-be-launched agency for overseas Koreans. Yonhap

Incheon, west of Seoul ― where the country's main international airport is located ― was one of the first cities to declare its interest and bid.

Since last year, Incheon Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok has been holding a series of meetings with ethnic Koreans in Europe, Hawaii and Uzbekistan in order to promote his city. He stressed that Incheon is the best candidate considering its accessibility to the airport, as well as the city's history, which saw the first group of Korean Emigrants depart for Hawaii from Incheon in 1902.

But the foreign ministry, which has a bigger say on the issue, has been hinting that Seoul is a better option. During a closed-door briefing in March, a senior official told reporters that establishing the agency in the capital would be appropriate considering the city's accessibility for those it is supposed to serve.

Such remarks invited criticism from local governments and civic groups outside of Seoul, who viewed that the ministry is attempting to open the agency in Seoul for its own benefit.

The Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice, a civic group based in Incheon, speculated that the foreign ministry is delaying the announcement intentionally in its push to choose Seoul, despite the calls from Incheon residents.

"The foreign ministry should keep its hands off the decision on the location of the agency and rather concentrate on detailing the organization's functions," read its statement issued on April 25. "The ministry officials seem to be repeatedly conducting calls among overseas Koreans until they get the results they want."

Earlier in March, the Overseas Koreans Foundation announced survey results conducted among 2,467 members of overseas Korean organizations which found that 70 percent of the respondents wished the agency to be launched in Seoul.

lhj@koreatimes.co.kr