The former and current board members of the LA Korean Festival Foundation, who are currently engaged in a legal battle over the election of the board of directors, have come to blows again over the preparations for the Korean Festival this October.
First, the current board of directors (Alex Cha, Brandon Lee, Ben Park, Moo Han Bae) announced on February 17 that the 52nd Korean American Festival will continue to be organized by the current board.
This year’s festival will be held from October 16 to 19 at Seoul International Park. The current board of directors cited the court’s decision to defer the execution of the initial court’s ruling.
On January 28, the Los Angeles County Superior Court issued a postponement of the enforcement of the initial rulings, which:
- Invalidated the election of the new board members (defendants Alex Cha, Brandon Lee, and Ben Park) on January 23, 2023.
- Invalidated the election of Alex Cha as chairman on January 3, 2024.
- Invalidated the removal of three former board members (plaintiffs Junbae Kim, Yunsook Park, and Ilsoon Choi) on January 3, 2024.
“The court’s decision allows us to prepare for the festival early this year,” said Alex Cha, Chairman of the LA Festival Foundation, ”and we will do our best to make the festival even better and more fulfilling than last year.”
In response, the current board of directors held a general meeting on February 13 and discussed the preparations for the festival.
According to the festival foundation, more than 140 companies have submitted applications for the agricultural and fishery expo. More than half of the food and snack booths have been booked.
On the other hand, the festival’s former board directors are determined to resolve the situation as soon as possible. “It’s just their claim (to proceed with the festival), and we never agreed to it,” said Yunsook Park, a former board member. ”We’re going to appeal the first court’s decision to suspend the judgment again, so we’ll have to wait and see.”
Meanwhile, the legal battle between the former and current board members began in February of last year, when three former board members (Junbae Kim, Yunsook Park, and Ilsoon Choi) filed an administrative provisional injunction lawsuit against the foundation and the current board members, claiming that their suspensions and expulsions were invalid.
The initial court rulings invalidated the election of new board members, including current chairman Alex Cha. However, the current board subsequently filed a motion to postpone the execution of the ruling, and the superior court decided to defer enforcement of the initial decision.
BY YEOL JANG [jang.yeol@koreadaily.com]
