City to extend its full support to open the Overseas Korean Service, and plans to actively promote necessary policies –
The Overseas Korean Service, which is scheduled to open this June, is coming to Incheon. With that, Incheon has secured a new growth engine that could help it take another leap forward as a bona fide global city with 10 million domestic and foreign citizens.
Incheon Metropolitan City Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok hosted a press conference at City Hall on May 8, and announced that the Overseas Korean Service has made its decision to come to Incheon. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced with a briefing on the same day confirming that the Overseas Korean Service is indeed coming to Incheon.
<Press Conference hosted by Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok>
<Incheon succeeds in bringing the Overseas Korean Service to Incheon>
Reports have confirmed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will create the new Overseas Korean Office, an organization dedicated to supporting overseas Koreans, as one of its external organizations after a bill for the Overseas Korean Service was passed in February. Scheduled to open on June 5, the Overseas Korean Service will feature 151 employees, and will be in charge of establishing and implementing policies for overseas Koreans, supporting overseas Koreans as well as overseas Korean groups, and implementing relevant service policies.
<Launching ceremony for citizen’s group to bring the Overseas Korean Service to Incheon>
The Overseas Korean Service is expected to serve not only as a central administrative agency for overseas Koreans, but also as a strategic hub to attract investments through the myriad of networks established by Koreans overseas.
Meanwhile, Incheon is the place where Korea's first modern immigration began. On December 22, 1902, 121 Koreans from Jemulpo Port emigrated from Japan to Honolulu, Hawaii, aboard a ship bound for Nagasaki, Japan.
<Declaration of Support for the Korean American Small Business USA>
The City will work closely with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety to offer its support throughout the build-up for the Overseas Korean Service, and generate investments in their home country i.e. Korea to play a leading role in the development of both the regional and national economies.
Moreover, Incheon plans to actively promote policies related to overseas Koreans to improve their rights and interests, and establish Incheon as a place where they can settle in.
Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok said, “With the Overseas Korean Service now coming to Incheon, we are more than ready to usher in a new era for Incheon where it evolves into a world-class city that is home to 10 million citizens.” The Mayor added, “We also want to turn Incheon into a hub where overseas Koreans can build their businesses and create more value.”
Meanwhile, since last September (for eight months), the City did its best to help open the Overseas Korean Service. Due in large part to these efforts, overseas Koreans from all over the world, including Europe, Uzbekistan, Hawaii, Hong Kong, Laos, Taiwan, Kazakhstan, and the United States, officially declared their support for Incheon as the best place for the Overseas Korean Service.
