The 13th annual KAC legislative luncheon was held on Nov. 15 at Yong Su San Restaurant in Koreatown. The topics for this year’s luncheon were the recently-released Korean American voter turnout rate and higher-than-normal absentee ballot rate for Korean American voters, and the free trade agreement between Korea and United States. Guest speakers included Korean Consul General Byung-Hyo Choi, L.A. County Supervisor Michael Antonovich, Korean Chamber of Commerce president Chang Y. Lee and assemblymember Hector De La Torre. Staff members from 20 different elected officials’ offices came to the luncheon, and as the invited guests enjoyed delectable Korean food, KAC executive director Grace Yoo gave a presentation on FTA and how it can benefit California and the city of Los Angeles. For more information on the Korean American voter turnout rate and the absentee ballot rate, please contact Gene Chang at (213) 365-5999, ext. 103 or gene@kacla.org.

 

Building Bridges

For The Korean Community

 

The third Koreatown town hall meeting was held on Nov. 10 in the parking lot of KAC’s KOA building. The theme of this barbeque party was bridging the Korean community and the LAPD. KAC invited LAPD Assistant Chief Jim McDonnell and the newly appointed captain, Matt Blake, who will be in charge of the new LAPD police station serving Koreatown. Back in April, KAC spearheaded a petition drive for the new LAPD station to seek only one division to encompass the entire Koreatown. Currently, Koreatown is under three divisions. KAC collected more than 4,200 signatures from residents and people who work in Koreatown and presented them to the LAPD. The third town hall meeting was meant to exchange dialogue between the LAPD and the Korean community on the safety concerns of Koreatown and to remind everyone the importance of having only one police station serve Koreatown.