Ruling Party and Government Narrow Down Location for Overseas Koreans Office... "Announcement Soon"

The ruling party and the government compressed and summarized the criteria for the location of the Overseas Koreans Office on the 4th. The location of the Overseas Koreans Office will be finalized and announced according to the criteria set by the ruling party and the government.

Park Dae-chul, the Policy Committee Chair of the People Power Party, said to reporters after the "Ruling Party-Government Council for the Successful Launch of the Overseas Koreans Office" on the same day, "In order to ensure that all preparations proceed smoothly in line with the official launch of the Overseas Koreans Office on the 5th of next month, we discussed the criteria for the location of the Overseas Koreans Office between the ruling party and the government and reached a consensus."

Earlier, in the consultation on the 12th of last month, the ruling party and the government established five criteria for the location: ▲Symbolism ▲Accessibility and convenience for overseas Koreans ▲Balanced national development ▲Administrative efficiency ▲Consistency of government organization.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Currently, multiple local governments including Incheon, Gwangju, and Jeju are hoping to host the Overseas Koreans Office, and according to the ruling party and government's criteria, Incheon and Seoul are considered the most likely candidates.

When asked if there are any shortlisted or compressed candidates, Chair Park said, "There are compressed candidates," and added, "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will organize the specific details and announce them."

The Overseas Koreans Office will provide civil services such as consular, legal affairs, military service, and education, and will also carry out existing projects of the Overseas Koreans Foundation, including exchanges and cooperation with overseas Koreans and organizations, network activation, and next-generation Korean education. During the last presidential election, both candidates Yoon Seok-yeol and Lee Jae-myung promised to establish the Overseas Koreans Office, and on February 27 of this year, the amendment to the Government Organization Act including the establishment of the Overseas Koreans Office passed the National Assembly plenary session.

Lim Soo-seok, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at the regular briefing in the afternoon, "Based on the results of the ruling party-government council discussions, the location of the Overseas Koreans Office will be announced externally as soon as it is finalized."

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