OKA chief stresses overseas Koreans' social success, identity as agency marks first year

Social Affairs

Published: 04 Jun. 2024, 16:47

OKA chief stresses overseas Koreans' social success, identity as agency marks first year

Lee Key-cheol, commissioner of the Overseas Korean Agency (OKA), speaks at the OKA headquarters in Songdo in this photo provided by the agency. [OVERSEAS KOREAN AGENCY]

Overseas Korean Agency (OKA) Commissioner Lee Key-cheol is proud of his organization's achievements in its first year.

"I have seen so many overseas Koreans who have been marginalized visiting Korea and been moved to tears on such occasions," he said.

Since the OKA's inauguration last June, the agency has hosted several events that invited overseas Koreans to Korea to network and learn about their ancestral homeland, saw the return of ethnic Koreans from the former Soviet Union and Germany, and set out to establish the agency's long-term groundwork.

Lee says much more is coming in terms of initiatives to reach out to 7 million overseas Koreans worldwide.

Capitalizing on Korea’s “extraordinary political and economic development,” he hopes to promote Korea in many countries where overseas Koreans live, helping them enter the mainstream of their countries of residence while maintaining their identities as Koreans.

With the OKA celebrating its anniversary on Wednesday, Lee discussed in a written interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily the challenges the agency has faced since opening, what projects the OKA hopes to host in the future and its vision and mission.

The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Q: Give us a brief introduction to how the OKA was established and how it overcame initial difficulties.

A: The OKA was launched on June 5 last year as a result of the longstanding wishes of more than 7 million overseas Koreans and the fulfillment of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s presidential campaign promise. The primary roles of the OKA are to protect and support overseas Koreans, foster overseas Korean identity, and build a global network between overseas Koreans and their home country.

In addition to addressing many overseas Korean affairs issues, we had to set the framework for future overseas Korean policies, and I dealt with many challenges, including organizational development, staff recruitment, setting the mission, vision and strategic goals, and coordinating with relevant ministries. It was all gratifying, as I have seen so many overseas Koreans who have been marginalized visiting Korea and been moved to tears on such occasions.

How is the OKA different from the previous governmental bodies in charge of overseas Koreans?

There are two main differences from when the work was handled by the Foreign Ministry’s overseas Korean policy department and the Overseas Korean Foundation. In the past, the government’s overseas Korean policy under the foundation was unilaterally protecting and supporting overseas Koreans, but with the establishment of the OKA, the paradigm has shifted to one where the government helps overseas Koreans enter the mainstream society of their countries of residence. We aim for a win-win and shared growth between overseas Koreans and Korea.

Secondly, in the past, the Foreign Ministry developed policies related to overseas Koreans, and the foundation implemented projects, but with the establishment of the OKA, both policy formulation and project implementation have been unified, which has made it possible to carry out policies in a more systematic, comprehensive and sustainable manner.

The participants of the Overseas Korean Adoptees Gathering and Lee Key-cheol, commissioner of the Overseas Korean Agency (OKA), center, pose for a photo during the opening ceremony of the event at Conrad Seoul in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Tuesday. [OVERSEAS KOREAN AGENCY]

What area of the OKA's work would you most like to highlight?

The government's overseas Korean policy has two core goals: fostering Korean identity and improving overseas Koreans’ status in their countries of residence. Simply put, the government wants to help them integrate into the mainstream society of their country of residence without forgetting their Korean roots.

There is a way to achieve these two core goals simultaneously. That project, which is the centerpiece of the OKA, aims to make Korean political and economic development more well-known internationally.

The project aims to teach overseas Koreans about Korea's development through textbooks, enhancing their Korean identity. It also aims to include Korea's development in textbooks of overseas Koreans' countries of residence, enhancing Korea's national brand and contributing to the entry of overseas Koreans into mainstream society.

What we mean when we say Korea’s political and economic development is that Korea is the only country in the world that has achieved both a European level of democratization and a European level of economic development among the 80 countries that gained independence after World War II. It is also highly praiseworthy that it took Western industrialized countries about 200 to 300 years to achieve this development, while Korea achieved it in only 60 years, and that it was reached under the most unfavorable conditions, including small land mass, poor resources, aggression from the North and the legacy of Japan's colonial occupation.

In March, OKA held a briefing on its 2024 policy priorities. What are some of the issues or goals you are focusing on this year?

There are four main issues, and the first one we are actively promoting is a project to include the political and economic development of Korea in textbooks overseas, to not only help overseas Koreans develop a sense of identity and pride as Koreans but also improve the status of overseas Koreans in their countries of residence. Secondly, we will continue to take care of, protect and support overseas Koreans and invite those who have been marginalized back to their home country to welcome them and make them feel at home. Third, we will make the World Korean Business Convention, scheduled for October this year, a more practical platform for participants to build a global Korean network and support enterprises to expand overseas. Fourth, to achieve our policy goal of providing innovative civil service, we will establish digital consular civil service systems that allow overseas Koreans to obtain civil documents at home and receive identity verification quickly.

Sakhalin-Russian compatriots arrive at the Incheon International Airport on March 17. [YONHAP]

What policies are in place to help overseas Koreans from Sakhalin, Koryoin (ethnic Koreans living in the former Soviet Union, especially Central Asia) and multicultural families, who have been relatively marginalized?

The OKA supports the permanent return and resettlement of Sakhalin Koreans and their families under the Special Law on Support for Sakhalin Koreans. Under the revised law, the scope of accompanying family members has been expanded from one immediate relative to all children.

We also support Koryoin in Russia and the former Soviet Union through similar laws and programs that provide legal assistance for Koryoin to obtain residency status in their countries of residence, support for economic independence and projects to strengthen Korean identity.

The OKA also assists multicultural families. Recently, many Vietnamese women who are married to Koreans have returned to Vietnam with their children, and we are supporting them through the Korea-Vietnam Care Centers established locally.

What effects do you wish to see from strengthening the global overseas Korean network?

Strengthening the global overseas Korean network will help overseas Koreans improve their status in their countries of residence and enter mainstream society. It can also help secure the support of the government of the country of residence of the overseas Koreans for major Korean national policies. It can also help Korean small- and medium-sized enterprises export their products and strengthen support for overseas expansion through the World Korean Business Convention.

What would you like to say to overseas Koreans?

We at the OKA will keep striving to create an agency with a low threshold and active communication, an agency that provides practical help, an agency that the overseas Korean community can rely on, and an agency that helps overseas Koreans feel their home country is on their side.

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]