There are growing calls to integrate diaspora-related tasks scattered across different government departments to enable the Overseas Koreans Office (OKO) to effectively serve as the central authority for diaspora policies.

Kim Geon, a member of the National Assembly from the People Power Party, highlighted this issue ahead of the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee audit on the 7th. In his statement, Kim mentioned, “Although the Overseas Koreans Office was established in June of last year to comprehensively manage diaspora policies, in its second year, it still struggles with integrating and coordinating policies across government ministries, undermining its founding purpose.”

Kim specifically pointed to several examples of fragmented operations: “For instance, while the ‘Sakhalin Koreans Permanent Return and Resettlement Program’ is overseen by the OKO, the budget is allocated through the Ministry of Health and Welfare. Similarly, the ‘Support Program for Children of Returning Southeast Asian Women of Korean Nationality’ is split, with the OKO handling the southern part of Vietnam, while the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family manages the northern part. Such examples of task division demonstrate inefficiencies.”

He also pointed out that the management of Korean language schools, a crucial initiative for fostering the next generation of the diaspora, faces similar issues. While the OKO is responsible for school operations, providing materials, and teacher training, authority over school registration resides with Korean embassies, leading to overlapping administrative responsibilities.

Kim added, “As these cases demonstrate, the siloed nature of different ministries and their protectionist approaches are creating duplicated tasks and inefficiencies in administration.”

The Sakhalin Koreans Permanent Return and Resettlement Program, initiated in 1992, initially received support from the Japanese government under a humanitarian initiative. The budget was provided through the Red Cross, which was executed by the Korean Red Cross. However, when the Japanese Red Cross withdrew from this support in 2016, the South Korean government continued the project, with the Ministry of Health and Welfare allocating the budget. Despite the OKO taking over the project’s management, the ₩7.6 billion budget remains under the welfare ministry, resulting in inefficiencies.

In response to these concerns, Lee Sang-deok, Commissioner of the Overseas Koreans Office, noted the effectiveness of policy integration. He mentioned, “We have already demonstrated the benefits of consolidating responsibilities by offering one-stop services for diaspora-related civil complaints, which were previously managed by over 10 different government agencies.” He emphasized that further task integration would enhance efficiency.