The Korea Herald

피터빈트

Korean Americans reach out to White House, Congress

By 윤민식

Published : Aug. 1, 2013 - 09:48

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A group of Korean-American community leaders said Wednesday it will meet with White House officials and congressional leaders this week to get their voice heard on key policy issues.

The Council of Korean Americans (CKA) is hosting an inaugural "Community+Congressional Leaders Event" in Washington, D.C., later in the day.

It will feature panel discussions on South Korea-U.S. relations, immigration reform, the Affordable Care Act, and North Korea, CKA said.

Among the participants are Reps. Ed Royce (R-CA), chairman the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Mike Honda (D-CA), Grace Meng (D-NY), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Bob Woodall (R-GA), Xavier Becerra (D-CA) and Judy Chu (D-CA), according to the Virgina-based group.

On Thursday, CKA will host a White House briefing with senior Obama administration officials, including Chief Technology Officer Todd Park, Chris Kang, senior counsel to the president, and Howard Koh, assistant secretary for health at the Department of Health and Human Services.

"Our members believe that political engagement and empowerment are our highest priorities," CKA Chairwoman Catharina Min said in a press release. "These two events are designed to address those key goals."

CKA President Sam Yoon said, "As a former Boston City Councilor, I personally appreciate the role that CKA can play to strengthen our voice and visibility in the political and policy arena."

CKA is a national nonpartisan and nonprofit organization of Korean-American leaders, tasked with asserting a strong voice on issues of critical importance to around 2 million Korean Americans in the United States. (Yonhap News)