In the center is Ko Sang-Goo, the newly elected president of the World Federation of Korean Associations. On the left is Sim Sang-man, the first president, and on the right is Kim Jeom-bae, the chairman of the election committee. [Photo: World Federation of Korean Associations]
(Seoul = World Korean News) Reporter Lee Seok-ho
Ko Sang-Goo, the former president of the Vietnam Korean Association, has been elected as the 2nd president of the World Federation of Korean Associations.
The World Federation of Korean Associations (WFKA) stated, “To elect the 2nd president, a board meeting was held on August 20, and a vote was conducted for the sole candidate, Ko Sang-Goo, former president of the Vietnam Korean Association,” adding, “Ko Sang-Goo was unanimously elected as the 2nd president.”
According to the WFKA, the meeting was attended by election committee members, and Kim Jeom-bae, the chairman of the election committee, personally handed the certificate of election to Ko Sang-Goo.
Earlier, on May 2, the WFKA announced the election of the 2nd president, and both Ko Sang-Goo, former president of the Vietnam Korean Association, and Yoo Je-hyun, former president of the European Korean Association, had submitted applications. However, Yoo Je-hyun later withdrew his candidacy, making Ko Sang-Goo the sole candidate.
Ko Sang-Goo, the final candidate, manages the K-Food Group, which oversees 150 K-marts across Vietnam. He has served as the president of the Hanoi Korean Association and the chairman of the World Korean Business Convention, and currently serves as the vice-chairman of the Asia-Pacific division of the Overseas Koreans Foundation (OKF).
In his acceptance speech, Ko Sang-Goo said, “I will make the World Federation of Korean Associations a prominent organization that truly represents 7.5 million overseas Koreans and leads the protection of their rights, strengthening the organization’s status.”
The WFKA is an organization that encompasses more than 500 Korean associations overseas. It was launched in October 2021 at the Grand Walkerhill Hotel in Seoul, where 100 former and current Korean association presidents attended the World Korean Association Conference. The president’s term at WFKA is 3 years. The first president was Sim Sang-man, who resides in Chennai and has served as the president of the Chennai Korean Association, the Indian Korean Association, and the president of the Asia Korean Association Federation.
* Source: World Korean News
