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| Incheon mayor Yoo Jeong-bok, left, and President Yoon Suk Yeol join the opening ceremony of the Overseas Koreans Agency at Songdo Central Park UN Square in western Incheon, Monday. Yonhap |
By Ko Dong-hwan
With the inauguration of the new Overseas Koreans Agency in Incheon on Monday, Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok expressed his ambitious vision for the city, envisioning it becoming a central hub for 7.5 million Koreans living overseas.
During the agency's opening ceremony at Songdo Central Park UN Square in western Incheon, the mayor proclaimed his vision and project, "Incheon, City of 10 Million Population," to embrace the western port city's 3 million local residents as well as the 7.5 million Koreans living overseas.
"Since the opening of its first harbor in 1883, Incheon has been a portal that connects Korea to the world… Koreans left for Hawaii in 1902, who were the country's first emigrants. Today, we have seen the new agency up and running, which will bridge the country to the world in a new way. I feel extraordinarily elated today," Yoo said during the ceremony.
The mayor emphasized that the new agency in Incheon will contribute to Korea's global standing and serve as a significant step towards the country's aspiration to become a global powerhouse by bridging Incheon with the Korean diaspora.
The opening of the agency, which operates under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, follows Incheon's persistent efforts to gain government support since September last year. With the National Assembly passing the necessary revision in February and the subsequent approval from the Cabinet, President Yoon Suk Yeol's final endorsement by signing the move in March solidified the establishment of the agency.
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