STRENGTHENING TIES WITH DEVELOPING ASIA
The Foundation launched a continuing, multi-faceted program to strengthen understanding and cooperation between Korea and developing countries in Asia. As part of an academic exchange and research project on “Korea’s Relations with Southeast Asia,” organized in cooperation with Georgetown University, a forum was held at Yonsei University, and a follow-on symposium was held in Singapore with the participation of scholars from Korea and Southeast Asia. In response to increasing Korean interest in South Asia, the Foundation hosted the visit to Korea by Mr. Tarun Das, Chief Mentor of the Confederation of Indian Industries, and organized a three-day program of seminars and meetings with business and government leaders focusing on Korea-India relations.
ENHANCING KOREA'S CAPACITY FOR DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION
As part of the Foundation's new Asian Development Fellowship program, two staff members from Korean development assistance NGOs worked in The Asia Foundation’s offices in Cambodia and Bangladesh to gain experience in planning and implementing development projects. The program was launched in cooperation with the Korea NGO Council for Overseas Cooperation, and will be expanded in 2008. The Foundation also organized a study tour to Korea for a Chinese delegation, headed by Vice Chairman of the Legal Affairs Standing Committee of The National People's Congress, to support the Committee’s research on state compensation law. The program included meetings with the Supreme Court, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ombudsman of Korea to gain an understanding of the practice and theory of state compensation in Korea and to observe the roles and functions of the various agencies.
In another instance of cooperation with the Korean government, Dr. Sungjun Kang, Director of the Organizational Performance Management Division, Ministry of Planning and Budget, began an 18-month affiliation in The Asia Foundation's headquarters in San Francisco. He is conducting research on public finance in the U.S. and selected Asian countries.