Representative Woo Won-sik is concerned about the budget for the construction of the Overseas Korean Education and Culture Center being transferred to the national treasury... Call for re-promotion

Rep. Woo Won-sik of the National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee announced on the 4th that although the budget for the construction of the Overseas Korean Education and Culture Center (hereinafter referred to as the Education and Culture Center), which will be a cradle for cultivating Korean identity and nurturing next-generation talent, will be transferred to the national treasury, it must be promoted again as it is the wish of Korean compatriots.

As the Education and Culture Center's Overseas Koreans Cooperation Center (hereinafter referred to as the Cooperation Center) was absorbed and integrated into the Overseas Koreans Office on the 1st, the construction budget of 14.67 billion won and donations from overseas Koreans of 3.01 billion won were returned to the national treasury.

The construction of an educational and cultural center is a project that the Korean community has consistently requested from the government of their home country, and during the time of the Overseas Korean Foundation, Korean merchants and other community leaders participated in raising donations and delivering the project.

Afterwards, when the Overseas Korean Foundation was dissolved, the newly launched Overseas Korean Cooperation Center took over the donations and promoted its construction.

The Education and Culture Center was scheduled to be built on the 6th floor with classrooms, data rooms, exhibition rooms, and storage to provide training in Korean language, history, and culture for the next generation of Koreans living abroad, display artifacts of Koreans living abroad, and build a digital archive. Seoul National University's Siheung Campus was scheduled to be completed in the first half of 2026, but construction has been delayed and the first shovel has not even broken ground.

As the project was delayed, the Overseas Korean Education and Culture Center Construction Promotion Committee held a press conference at the National Assembly in March and urged its construction.

The Promotion Committee argued that, in a situation where half of the employees are at risk of losing their jobs due to the recent dissolution of the cooperation center, it is necessary to first create a construction promotion group to continue the employment of employees and incorporate the education and culture center in the long term.

The Dongbu Office has inherited related rights, obligations, and property through the integration of cooperation centers, and according to national budget laws, donations, etc., belong to the state and will not be returned to the budget authorities as a result of unuse or non-execution, and announced that it plans to consult with the National Assembly and related organizations to ensure that the donations are used in accordance with the purpose of future donations by compatriots.

Rep. Woo pointed out that if the continuity of existing procedures is interrupted during the project re-promotion process and services and related procedures have to be followed again, there is a risk that the construction of the Education and Culture Center, which has already been delayed for several years, will start from square one again.

Rep. Woo said, "It is positive that Incheon Mayor Park Chan-dae recently announced his intention to create an education and culture center along with the independent office of the Overseas Koreans in Songdo," but added, "This is currently in the planning stage, and how to continue the continuity of existing government-level education and culture center projects and financial resources is a separate task."

He then ordered, “The government should not just stop at starting a new project from scratch, but related ministries should come up with a plan to maximize the performance, procedures, and financial resources of existing projects.”

Among the Korean merchants who participated in the 'World Korean Business Convention' held at Songdo Convensia in Incheon from the 28th to the 30th of last month, leading CEOs who had taken the lead in raising donations in the past objected to the donations being reverted to the national treasury, and there was talk of a lawsuit for return.

However, it was resolved as the Dongpo Office promised to take advantage of the effects of the integration of cooperative centers and to carry forward the wishes of donors to quickly promote the construction of an educational and cultural center.

Rep. Woo said, "The Overseas Korean Education and Culture Center is not a project to simply build a building, but a project to create an educational and cultural base where the next generation of overseas Koreans can learn the language, history, and culture of their home country and connect the Republic of Korea with the 7 million overseas Koreans." He emphasized, "The government must actively prepare institutional and administrative measures so that the already secured budget and donations can be used according to the original purpose."