Overseas Koreans Agency Creates Capability Support Office to Strengthen Support for 7 Million Koreans Abroad
Official-source translation: the Overseas Koreans Agency will integrate the Overseas Koreans Cooperation Center, create one capability support office and three divisions, and implement the reorganization on October 1, 2026.
- Integrating the “Overseas Koreans Cooperation Center” to consolidate the fragmented support system into a single entity and improve efficiency
- Establishing a Tailored Support System Covering Education, Employment, and Settlement
[Related National Policy Initiatives] 123. Promoting the safety and convenience of Korean nationals abroad and strengthening support for overseas Koreans
To strengthen the capacity of overseas Korean communities systematically and enhance administrative expertise, the Overseas Koreans Agency (Commissioner Kim Kyung-hyup) promulgated the “Organization of the Overseas Koreans Agency” and its enforcement rules on 7. 14., and will bring them into force on 10. 1.
Through this reorganization, the Overseas Koreans Cooperation Center, an affiliated body, will be integrated into the Overseas Koreans Agency. This will consolidate the fragmented support system, link policy formulation more closely with program implementation, and improve administrative efficiency and accountability.
Accordingly, the Overseas Koreans Agency plans to provide prompt and convenient administrative services to Koreans living abroad around the world and to enhance South Korea’s competitiveness by strengthening their capabilities and expanding their networks.
The reorganization creates 1 Overseas Korean Capacity Support Office, led at Grade Na of the Senior Civil Service, and 3 subordinate divisions: the Overseas Korean Talent Development Division, the Next-Generation Overseas Korean Training Division, and the Overseas Korean Heritage Preservation Division.
The Overseas Korean Talent Development Division will move beyond the one-off invitation scholarship programs previously operated by the Overseas Koreans Cooperation Center and establish an end-to-end support system for returning overseas Koreans, covering education, employment, and settlement. By connecting and supporting each stage with relevant agencies, it will help overseas Korean talent settle securely in Korea and grow into key contributors to the country.
In 2025, the Next-Generation Overseas Korean Training Division's program serves about 2,000 participants; by 2029, the agency plans to expand it to 6,000 participants annually. Outstanding participants will be managed as a talent pool and connected through a global alumni network, helping them become key contributors to a sustainable overseas Korean network.
The Overseas Korean Heritage Preservation Division plans to establish a records management system to enable the government to manage overseas Korean heritage—including the history of their migration and settlement—at the national level, thereby preserving the scattered heritage of overseas Korean communities and passing it on to future generations.
Commissioner Kim Kyung-hyup said, “This reorganization is intended to integrate the previously dispersed functions that support overseas Korean capabilities and strengthen policy implementation.” He added, “We will continue to develop the organization so that overseas Koreans working around the world as promoters of the Korean Wave, expanders of Korea's economic reach, and private-sector diplomats for international cooperation can experience more convenient administrative services, and so that the capacity of the global network of seven million Koreans (700 *man* in the Korean source) can grow further.”
※ (Attachment) Proposed Organizational Restructuring of the Overseas Koreans Agency
Note: Organizational Restructuring of the Overseas Koreans Agency
- Reorganization chart: promulgated on 2026. 7. 14.; effective on 2026. 10. 1.
- New Offices: Office of Overseas Korean Capacity Building, Office of Overseas Korean Talent Development, Division of Next-Generation Overseas Korean Training, and Division of Overseas Korean Heritage Preservation
- Name change: Next-Generation Overseas Koreans Division → Next-Generation Overseas Koreans Policy Division
- Transfer of the Overseas Koreans Cooperation Center’s Functions to Headquarters (Abolition of the Center)
The key policy signals are the integration of the Overseas Koreans Cooperation Center's functions into agency headquarters, the creation of the capacity support office and 3 divisions, and implementation on 2026. 10. 1. The article uses a separate AI-edited cover rather than a source photograph or attached chart.