The Korean American Federation of Los Angeles (KAFLA) has elected a new president.
Despite expectations, the organization’s board member, Robert Ahn, was the only candidate running for the position and was elected unopposed. Ahn will officially begin his two-year term starting January 1, 2025.
On November 7, the KAFLA’s election committee held a ceremony to present the 37th KAFLA President’s certificate of election and report on the election progress at the organization’s headquarters.
The election committee’s chair Yong Ho Kim delivered the certificate of election to President-elect Ahn. “I am certain that Mr. Ahn will do a good job for the Korean-American community,” said Kim.
Ahn said that it was “a big thing to celebrate and also a big responsibility.” “The previous presidents have done a lot of hard work, and now the second generation of Korean Americans must take responsibility and lead the KAFLA and the Korean-American community,” he added. Ahn said his most important task is to increase Korean-American political power.
“In order for the Korean-American community to move to the next level, we need to focus on increasing our political power,” he said.
“I will make the most of my connections to increase the influence of the Korean-American community,” said Ahn, adding that he hopes to have mainstream politicians seek out the Korean-American community.
Ahn also plans to strengthen his network to address issues that the Korean-American community are currently facing.
“There are many problems that the Korean-American community has been facing for a long time, such as crime, homelessness, and aging public infrastructure,” he said, “and we will strengthen our resources to solve them.”
Ahn’s keyword for his campaign is “KAFLA 2.0″. “We can do a lot of things if the generations are united and make synergy, then the KAFLA will grow into an organization that is recognized by the mainstream society,” he said. “We have to work for the Korean-American community, and it’s also for our future generations,” he said, adding, ”It’s time for everyone to come together.”
Ahn will also focus on securing the budget of the organization. “We can only do so much if we have a generous budget,” he said, emphasizing that he will focus on learning how to secure a budget and finding resources.
In a report on the election, election committee chair Kim said, “The committee worked together as one body and followed the bylaws, and the election went well,” adding, “I am grateful and fortunate how the election went without a hitch.”
The election committee was comprised of seven members, including Kim, Jean Choi, Jun Bae Kim, Sam Shin, Dong Mouk Yim, Dalrae Jin, and Soonhwan Choi. The commission distributed candidate registration documents from October 23 to 25. Ahn picked up his documents on October 24 and paid $5,000 of the $50,000 candidacy fee in advance. Ahn then went to the commission on November 6 to submit the candidate registration documents and pay the remaining $45,000. On the same day, the commission reviewed the documents and found them to be in order. The election commission is scheduled to dissolve on November 12 after finalizing the settlement and organizing the data.
Ahn’s election as president-elect also marks the first father-son presidency in the history of the KAFLA. His father is James Ahn, who served as the 32nd president of the organization.
BY KYEONGJUN KIM, HOONSIK WOO [woo.hoonsik@koreadaily.com]
