[News Terms] 'Overseas Korean Agency' to Support 7.5 Million Overseas Koreans

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jong-hwa] The 'Overseas Koreans Agency' is a government institution scheduled to be newly established under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It will be responsible for overseas Korean exchange cooperation, network activation, next-generation Korean education, and one-stop civil services such as consular, legal, and military affairs for overseas Koreans.

The government established the 'Overseas Koreans Foundation' in 1997 to support overseas Koreans in maintaining ethnic ties while settling as exemplary members of their resident countries' societies. However, as the number of overseas Koreans reached 7.5 million as of the end of last year, the need arose to respond comprehensively and systematically to the increased expectations of the Korean community and changes in policy environments such as generational shifts. Since then, the government has attempted nine times to establish the Overseas Koreans Agency or a Presidential Committee on Overseas Koreans, but all efforts were thwarted due to diplomatic concerns with countries sensitive to minority issues like China and differences in opinions between ruling and opposition parties.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs building.
[Photo by Asia Economy DB]

After the inauguration of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration last year, the government prioritized the establishment of the Overseas Koreans Agency, judging that "the long-standing wish of 7.5 million overseas Koreans to establish the agency can no longer be delayed." Currently, overseas Korean affairs are divided among related ministries and public institutions under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, such as the Overseas Koreans Foundation. To strengthen one-stop support for overseas Koreans, the government plans to transfer the overseas Korean policy functions of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Overseas Korean Consular Planning Office and integrate the project functions of the Overseas Koreans Foundation to establish a separate dedicated agency, the Overseas Koreans Agency.

However, the government plans to establish a separate corporation called the 'Overseas Koreans Cooperation Center' under the Overseas Koreans Agency to carry out diplomatically sensitive overseas Korean support projects, such as those related to Chinese Koreans (Joseonjok), which may provoke opposition from China, in order to avoid diplomatic friction after the agency's launch.

The government reorganization plan, including the establishment of the Overseas Koreans Agency, was agreed upon by ruling and opposition parties on the 14th, passed the National Assembly's Administrative and Security Committee on the 16th, and is scheduled for a plenary vote on the 24th. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is operating a task force (TF) to prepare for the launch of the Overseas Koreans Agency and plans to accelerate preparations after the National Assembly's approval to launch it within the first half of the year. Upon the agency's launch, the Overseas Koreans Foundation will undergo dissolution procedures, and its organization and personnel will be absorbed into the Overseas Koreans Agency.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.