재외동포재단 - OVERSEAS KOREANS FOUNDATION

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A. The Competent Ministry and Division

Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Overseas Residents and Consular Affairs Bureau, Overseas Residents and Emigration Division

B. Establishment Warranty and Establishment Date

ㅇ Establishment warranty:
   OKF Law (No. 5313 / Proclaimed on March 27, 1997)
ㅇ Establishment history:
   On May 3, 1996, March 27, 1997, and October 30, 1997, respectively, the first Overseas Koreans
   Policy Committee convention was held, where the decision to found OKF was made; the OKF Law
   (No. 5,313) was announced; OKF was launched. ,

C. Establishment Purpose and Major Functions and Programs

ㅇ Establishment purpose (Article 1 of the OKF Law)
	- Provides support for overseas Koreans to develop and maintain a sense of national unity and to serve as exemplary citizens in the countries where they are residing
ㅇ Targets (Article 2 of the OKF Law)
	- Koreans who have long been residing or who have acquired citizenship in foreign countries - Irrespective of nationality, those who have a Korean bloodline and who live in a foreign country
ㅇ Businesses stipulated in the law (Article 7 of the OKF Law)
	- Overseas Koreans exchange - Survey and research on overseas Koreans’ communities - Education, cultural, and publicity programs targeting overseas Koreans - Projects commissioned to OKF by the government - Businesses that are necessary for achieving the purposes under Article 1, as approved by the Prime Minister and determined by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade - Supplementary businesses related to the businesses stipulated in Sections 1 to 3

ㅇ Major Programs

Department/division	Major functions
Planning and survey	Establishes and coordinates OKF’s major programs, and formulates and manages the budgets Takes charge of the organization, workforce, personnel affairs, and administrative affairs, reshapes laws and regulations, conducts survey and research on overseas Koreans, publishes publicity materials (e.g., overseas Koreans’ newsletter), supports overseas Koreans’ news media, and operates overseas Koreans’ civil service center
Exchange	Supports activities to facilitate overseas Koreans’ exchange and to promote their rights and benefits, conducts programs to form Korean communities, supports programs to commemorate the overseas emigration of Koreans, and invites foreign-adopted Koreans to Korea and supports their travel expenses
Education	Supports the Korean language and Korean national spirit education, offers scholarship grants to overseas Koreans, invites overseas Koreans to take part in educational programs, and develops and holds Korean cyber lectures for overseas Koreans
Cultural	Dispatches culture and arts groups, promotes Korean cultures and arts among overseas Koreans, provides support for the preservation of traditional Korean cultures, and helps foster the culture and arts organizations of overseas Koreans
Economic	Facilitates economic exchanges between domestic and overseas Koreans, and operates Korean business networks
Information	Operates Koreans’ networks, and establishes and operates Korean cyber business networks and the Korean.net portal site

D. Organization and No. of Staffers

ㅇ Organization of the office:
chairman, director for planning, director for operations, and auditor (non-standing), and 6 departments

ㅇ Workforce

Total	Officials	Staff
49	3	46

* Officials from ministries: two from the Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry, one from the Planning and Budget Ministry, and one from the Education and Human Resources Ministry

E. Status of Officials and Their Selection Method

1. Status of officials

A) Standing Officials

Position	Name (Date of birth)	Education/ major profile (standing)
Chairman	Kim Kyeung Kun (57/07/06)	Korea Univ Law , Dept of International politics , The councilor of an embassy in Israel The councilor of an embassy in Israel Korea consul stationed in Thai Korea ambassador in Jordan
V.P., Planning	Chang Chul-kyun (50/07/17)	B.A. in Political Science, Yonsei Univ. / M.A. in International Political Science, U.S. Johns Hopkins Univ. / Coordinator for Asia-Pacific Affairs Bureau at Foreign Affairs Ministry / an official at the Korean Embassy in China / a publicist at the Foreign Affairs Ministry / Special assistant to ASEM Preparation Planning Group / Korean ambassador to Laos
V.P., Projects	Kim Seung-woong (43/08/29)	Political Science at Seoul Nat’l Univ. / Science of America at U.S. Macalester College / Social Psychology at Graduate School of Univ. of Tokyo in Japan / Chief-editor-level general manager at Hankook Ilbo / Chief editor at Sisa Journal / Washington correspondent for Munhwa Ilbo / Spokesman and publicist for the National Assembly Secretariat

B) Natural non-standing directors (Article of the OKF Law) Non-standing (mandatory VPs)

V.P.	Director-general for overseas residents and consular affairs of Koreans at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade
V.P.	Official for international education and information planning at the Ministry of Education and Human Resources
V.P.	Director-general for arts at the Ministry of Culture and Tourism
V.P.	Coordinator for foreign affairs and security at the Office for Government Policy Coordination of the Office of the Prime Minister
V.P.	Coordinator for social budget at the Ministry of Planning

E. Program Trends

ㅇ Programs trends

1997-1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003-2004
Survey & research	Survey & research	Survey & research	Survey & research Information	Survey & research Information	Survey & research Information
Exchange & publicity	Publicity	Publicity	Exchange & publicity	Publicity Economic	Publicity Economic
Exchange & publicity	Exchange	Exchange Support for Korean Residents’ Union in Japan	Exchange Support for Korean Residents’ Union in Japan	Exchange Support for Korean Residents’ Union in Japan	Exchange Support for Korean Residents’ Union in Japan
Education & culture	Culture Education	Culture Education	Culture Education	Culture Education	Culture Education Establishing world Korean language satellite broadcast network

※ Information programs were separated from the survey and research sector in 2001.
※ With its launching, OKF provided budget support to the Korean Residents’ Union in Japan jointly with MOFT, but in 2000, the total budgets were transferred to OKF, allowing these programs to be separated from the exchange program.
※ The World Korean Language Satellite Broadcast Network Establishment Project was jointly initiated with YTN in 2003.