Young Oak Kim: “I am proud to stand in support of H.R. 826, the Divided Families Reunification Act, and I want to thank Congresswoman…”

“I am proud to stand in support of H.R. 826, the Divided Families Reunification Act, and I want to thank Congresswoman Meng for introducing this bill and the House Foreign Affairs Committee for ensuring a speedy passage of this timely legislation. I am also proud to colead another bill under consideration today that addresses this issue, H. Res. 294, introduced by the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Bass). Since implementing family reunions in 1985, the South and North Korean Governments have facilitated 21 in-person reunions and seven video reunions. However, the nearly 100,000 Korean Americans with family members in North Korea have been left out of this process entirely. As a longtime advocate for human rights and humanitarian aid in North Korea, I have consistently spoken on the need to prioritize these issues, especially by appointing a Special Envoy for North Korean human rights issues, which has remained vacant since 2017, and remains unfilled under President Biden. Time is running out for separated family members, as many are in their eighties and nineties, and their numbers continue to dwindle. Congress and the Biden administration must come together to make Korean-American participation and reunifications a reality before it is too late. My mother-in-law was one of the many Koreans who made the brave journey across the 38th parallel line to bring her family to South Korea.…”