Choi Bong-hyeok, Columnist (AI, ESG, DX Convergence Expert, Workplace Disability Awareness Training Expert) = Park Dong-woo, Former US White House Deputy Assistant Secretary for Disability Policy "The Moving Story of the 12th Anniversary Commemoration of the Korea-US FTA" Story ⑥
[Guest Article]
An event commemorating the historic 12th anniversary of the Korea-US FTA was held on March 7, 2024, in Fullerton, hosted by the Los Angeles Consulate General.
Memories of my efforts to secure early ratification of the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA) in the US Congress back in 2009, 15 years ago, came flooding back.
At that time, I was in the midst of a 5-month background check by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and the White House Counsel's Office for my nomination as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Disability Policy under the Obama administration, so I was extremely cautious in my activities.
At the time, I was working as an Assistant Vice President and Loan Manager at Farmers and Merchants Bank (F&M Bank), and as an active member of the Economic and Trade Committee and Public Relations Spokesperson for the Orange County & San Diego Overseas Regional Council (Chairman Young-dae Ahn), the first independently launched chapter of the Korean Peninsula Peace and Unification Advisory Council (KPUC) in the Los Angeles area.
The early ratification of the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement, crucial for Korea's economic development, was also vital for the Korean-American business community here in the US. During a KPUC executive meeting, I presented my experience with grassroots movements and public diplomacy during the 1998 IMF crisis in Korea and, with Chairman Ahn's and the executives' agreement, initiated a grassroots movement to sway the US Congress.
All politics is local. Thus, I launched a grassroots movement. The first hurdle was to get the Garden Grove Chamber of Commerce, where I served as a board member, to pass a resolution urging early ratification of the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement. I devoted my utmost efforts to securing passage through this crucial first gateway.
Not only was I an Assistant Vice President and Loan Manager at F&M Bank, but also a former Garden Grove City Council candidate who had experienced three failures, a former president of the Garden Grove Rotary Club, and a former president of the Garden Grove Sister City Association. Leveraging my network, I explained that the Korea-US FTA would be a win-win for everyone. The Garden Grove Chamber of Commerce adopted the resolution unanimously.
The support of then-President Karni Magorin was significant, and the resolution for early ratification, passed by the Chamber of Commerce, was also adopted unanimously by the Garden Grove City Council, making Garden Grove the first of the 34 cities in Orange County to adopt a resolution supporting early ratification.
Jae-soo Kim, Consul General of Los Angeles, Young-dae Ahn, Chairman of the KPUC, and numerous community leaders and Korean diaspora attended the Garden Grove City Council meeting to witness the unanimous passage of the resolution.
In addition, with the consent of the members of the Orange County & San Diego KPUC, I also sent emails on their behalf to their respective federal representatives and senators. Following Garden Grove, we secured support resolutions in Buena Park and then in Fullerton. At the time, Fullerton Mayor Don Bankhead and Councilmember Sharon Quirk-Silva also participated in the unanimous vote.
Source: [Guest Article] Park Dong-woo, Former US White House Deputy Assistant Secretary for Disability Policy, "The Moving Story of the 12th Anniversary Commemoration of the Korea-US FTA" Story ⑥: Disability Awareness Newspaper - https://dpi1004.com/3861
Comments0