OKA aims to make Korea a 'global pivotal state' with overseas Koreans' help

The agency held its "Dialogue with Overseas Koreans" event on Wednesday at its headquarters in Songdo, Incheon, to celebrate its first anniversary.

Lee Key-cheol, commissioner of the Overseas Koreans Agency, far left, speaks during a "Dialogue with Overseas Koreans" event at the agency's headquarters in Songdo, Incehon, on Wednesday. [YONHAP]

The Overseas Koreans Agency (OKA) said it would like to serve as a bridge for Korea to become a "global pivotal state" with the help of Koreans abroad.

The agency held its "Dialogue with Overseas Koreans" event on Wednesday at its headquarters in Songdo, Incheon, to celebrate its first anniversary.

“There is a lot more work to be done to further grow Korea’s relationship with overseas compatriots and for our country to become a global pivotal state,” said Lee Key-cheol, commissioner of the OKA, during his opening remarks for the event. “We will strive to create policies that provide practical help to overseas compatriots and make sure that the effect of our policies is felt.”

The Yoon Suk Yeol administration's "global pivotal state" initiative seeks to make Korea an international participant that advances freedom, peace, and prosperity through liberal democratic values and substantial cooperation.

Officials from the presidential office, Incheon City, the former Overseas Korean Foundation and members of academia attended the dialogue in person. Overseas compatriots and their families participated online via video conference, with a handful participating in person.

Chung Tae-sik, a Sakhalin compatriot, performed a song he personally composed, “Sakhalin Arirang.” Chung is the oldest of a group of 60 Sakhalin-Koreans who settled in Ansan, Gyeonggi, last month after returning permanently to Korea. Sakhalin Koreans are descendants of Koreans — largely from the southern regions of today's South Korea — who migrated, often under duress, to the southern half of Sakhalin Island as laborers when both Korea and southern Sakhalin were under Japanese rule.

When the Soviet Union overran southern Sakhalin at the end of World War II, the Koreans on the island were rendered stateless. Many would remain so until the 1990s when Sakhalin Koreans began returning after South Korea and the Soviet Union established diplomatic ties. Some 5,000 Sakhalin Koreans have since returned to South Korea.

Afterward, a session was held in which Lee answered questions from overseas compatriots, introducing the accomplishments and support programs of the OKA.

“Overseas compatriots from the Sakhalin region face problems such as bonding properly with their families after returning permanently to Korea and not knowing much of Korean laws, or even that their names and birthdates change when legally registering here,” said Kwon Kyeong-seok, the president of the Sakhalin Returnee Association. “We hope that the OKA can help with these matters.”

Atomic bomb survivors living in Japan spoke through video call and expressed gratitude for President Yoon Suk Yeol’s invitation to them to Korea last year and asked for continued attention.

Around 50,000 Koreans in Japan were killed in the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, and around 43,000 survived, according to the Korea Atomic Bombs Victim Association. Many of the survivors suffer from radiation-related conditions and have endured discrimination in Japanese society due to their Korean heritage.

Lee promised that the Korean government and the OKA would care for marginalized overseas Koreans.

When an event attendee asked for more opportunities for Korean youth to intern at companies owned by compatriots overseas, Lee responded that the agency would “develop and expand mutually beneficial internships between Korean universities and overseas companies.”

The dialogue session also called upon the overseas Korean community to lower the age for multiple citizenship, a long-standing demand. Under the current Nationality Act, only those who enter Korea after the age of 65 and receive permission to restore their Korean nationality can hold multiple citizenship, and the demand is that this age be lowered to 60 or 55.

“We must lower the age to 55,” said Lee. “To achieve this, we are conveying the opinions of the overseas Korean community to relevant ministries and researching to shape domestic public opinion.”

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