U.S. House passes bill to help Korean Americans reunite with relatives separated by Korean War

An effort to reunite Korean Americans with their families in North Korea has taken one step forward.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Korean American Divided Families National Registry Act, which aims to help Korean Americans reconnect with the families they left behind in the North decades ago in the wake of the Korean War.

The bill co-sponsored by Representative Michelle Steel (R-CA), who is a Korean-American, and Representative Jennifer Wexton (D-VA), was passed on June 25, marking the 74th anniversary of the start of the Korean War.

The Divided Families National Registry Act would establish a data repository through the State Department of information about Korean American families and their separated relatives in North Korea, living and deceased, and encourage cooperation between the U.S. and North Korea to help facilitate reconnection opportunities either through travel or digitally. The bill aims to appropriate to the Secretary of State $1 million to carry out the mission.

“Many Korean Americans continue to experience heartache from a lifetime of separation from relatives trapped in North Korea,” said Rep. Steel in a statement. “Our family reunification bill will help families reconnect with relatives they haven’t seen since the Korean War – an opportunity they’ve tragically had to wait over 70 years for. 70 years is long enough, and many of these individuals are running out of time to see their loved ones.”

Rep. Wexton also welcomed the House’s decision to pass the bill by saying, “I’m proud that the House has passed my bipartisan legislation with Rep. Steel to give Korean American families across the U.S. a chance to reconnect with their separated loved ones after more than seven decades.”

She added, “Thousands of Korean Americans have not seen or spoken with their relatives for most of their lives, and second- and third-generation Korean Americans know nothing but stories and heartbreak of their separated families. By advancing this legislation with broad bipartisan support, we’re giving those families hope.”

Representative Young Kim (R-CA) also sent out a post on X, stating, “GOOD NEWS: The House just passed the Korean American Divided Families National Registry Act. I cannot emphasize enough that time is running out.”

Paul Lee, President of Divided Families USA, welcomed the news in a statement included in Rep. Wexton’s announcement.

“Since beginning to work on this issue in 2016, two of the greatest challenges I have seen facing Korean American divided families have been a lack of a formal accounting mechanism or access to an official channel of reunions,” he said. “For the first time ever, the Divided Families National Registry Act offers a tangible solution to these problems and provides an official pathway for reunions. In other words, if this bill were to become law, it would not only give hope for reconnection with their relatives in North Korea, but also a sense of safety and reassurance that they would be supported by the US government.”

This registry is modeled on similar efforts between South Korea and North Korea which have successfully brought together more than 44,000 families. The bill will be sent to the Senate for a vote and then to the President to become law. A similar bill has also been introduced in the Senate.

Meanwhile, it was estimated that there are around 100,000 Korean Americans had their family members left in North Korea as of 2001. However, as time has passed, it is speculated that this number has significantly decreased.

BY YOUNGNAM KIM [kim.youngnam@koreadaily.com]