Korean-American Named US Assistant Attorney General
By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter
A Korean-American woman has been nominated as one of the top decision makers in the U.S. federal government.
U.S. President George W. Bush named on Nov. 15 Grace Chung Becker as a nominee for the position of assistant attorney general for civil rights at the U.S. Department of Justice, a promotion from deputy assistant.
If the Senate endorses the nomination, she will be the highest-ranking Korean-American working for the U.S. federal government.
Born and raised in New York, she graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and received her master's degree in law from Georgetown University.
Becker served as a special advisor to the U.S. assistant secretary of the Army between 2001 and 2002 in investigating genocide, the so-called ``Nogunri massacre'' that took place during the Korean War (1950-1953) in which U.S. soldiers opened fire on Korean civilians.
She is credited with coordinating the investigation among high-level officials in the Defense Department and other federal agencies.