NetKal to increase cooperation with S. Korea

A network of second-generation Korean-American leaders plans to increase cooperation with South Korea in bolstering the economic partnership between the two countries, promoting Korean culture in the United States and other areas, its leader said Sunday.

Lee Je-hoon, director of the Network of Korean-American Leaders (NetKAL) Fellowship Program at the University of Southern California, made the remark in an interview with Yonhap News Agency to mark the 10th anniversary of the program.

Launched in 2006, NetKAL is a six-month leadership training program designed to help participants expand their professional networks, build coalitions, communicate effectively and lead transformations, while defining their own multifaceted role as a Korean-American leader, according to the program.

So far, a total of 226 fellows have participated in the program, most of them graduates from such top universities as Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, UC Berkeley and USC. In their 30s and 40s, many of them hold responsible positions in various areas, such as David Ryu, a Los Angeles councilman, and Ron Kim, a New York State assemblyman.

"Not only building a network among next-generation Korean-American leaders, we are also studying ways to increase cooperation with South Korea. With the implementation of the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement in March 2013, NetKAL has bigger roles to play," Lee said.

Lee said NetKAL can help link various areas between South Korea and the U.S., and facilitate exchanges between them. NetKAL fellows could also play a role in efforts to counter Japan's territorial claims to South Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo and resolve the issue of Japan's wartime sexual slavery, Lee said.

Other NetKAL fellows include David Lee, a State Department adviser at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, and Jessica Shim, a MSNBC producer.

Lee said that South Korea plans to establish the "Foundation of Global Korean Leaders" in an effort to help raise young Korean-American leaders in the U.S. NetKAL plans to work closely with South Korea through the foundation, he said.

Former Sookmyung Women's University President Lee Kyung-sook will head the foundation, Lee said. (Yonhap)