Less than three months away from the 50th anniversary of the Annual Korean Festival, the Los Angeles Korean Festival Foundation, led by Chairman Moo Han Bae, is grappling with intense internal conflicts. While the organization brought in young new board members promising renewal and change, the clash between these newcomers and the established board directors has escalated.
A special board meeting took place on July 25 to address the issue of new board member Brandon Lee, who had recently criticized senior board directors using profanity in a KakaoTalk group chatroom. However, the meeting was disrupted, and no resolution was reached.
The conflict originated during the selection process for a company to organize the senior model fashion show at the 50th anniversary of annual Los Angeles Korean Festival. In April, the board of directors had already decided to go with KAMA, a company that had a long-standing relationship with the organization.
However, tensions arose when it was revealed later that SM USA had paid a $15,000 sponsorship fee, and Chairman Moo Han Bae, Jun-bae Kim, and Il-soon Choi had accepted it without consulting the entire board.
Brandon Lee objected to this decision made by a few board members and expressed his dissatisfaction in strong language in the social media group chatroom. Despite his apology during the board meeting, stating, “I’m sorry I used a word that I shouldn’t have used,” he also emphasized the need for transparency and accountability in financial matters.
The senior board directors, however, defended their actions, asserting that their decisions were made in the best interest of the organization. The situation further intensified when it was disclosed that the new board members had not paid their dues in full. While the standard board member dues were $10,000 each, the new members had only paid $5,000, a decision made by Chairman Bae’s discretion.
Yoon Sook Park expressed her concerns, stating, “Allowing them to pay only half of the dues was not a resolution of the board of directors.” She pointed out that the new directors were participating without fulfilling their financial obligations and highlighted the recent incident of “verbal insult.”
In response, Chairman Bae claimed that the new board members had agreed to pay the remaining $5,000 before the start of the festival. He defended his decision, stating that he had granted them a favor and would take responsibility for any deficit. Bae also made a puzzling claim, pointing out that the existing board members had not paid a single dollar when they were reinstated.
However, it was revealed that this was not the only instance where the board had ignored formal voting procedures. The $60,000 donation made by Chairman Bae to the South Korean flood victims was done through a verbal agreement among board members, lacking a formal decision.
Bae argued that the urgency of the situation necessitated swift action, and the $60,000 donation was to be officially approved at a later board meeting. However, Park expressed her surprise at not being informed about the donation beforehand, highlighting that as a director, she should have been included in the decision-making process. Moreover, she stressed that the donation came from the festival foundation’s funds, not personal money, making the method and procedure incorrect.
As the tensions escalated, Chairman Bae abruptly concluded the board meeting, leaving a significant divide among the board members.
The 50th Annual Los Angeles Korean Festival is scheduled for October 12-15. The festival foundation has announced the theme for this year as “Great Challenges for the Next 50 Years.”
BY SUAH JANG [jang.suah@koreadaily.com]
