Here is more from Korea Pro:
A South Korean nonprofit affiliated with Seoul’s foreign ministry has funneled at least $9.4 million to U.S. think tanks in recent years, a Korea Pro investigation has found, making it one of the top global funders of American policy research despite avoiding registration under foreign agent laws.
The findings show that the Korea Foundation (KF), which maintains offices in Washington and Los Angeles, provided grants to at least 31 different organizations from 2019 to 2023.
But while KF claims to be a non-governmental body and a “nonprofit public institution,” Korea Pro’s findings show that the foundation is closely tied to the South Korean government and explicitly seeks to advance Seoul’s interests, at times pressuring scholars to promote the positions of the administration in power.
KF’s activities reportedly caught the attention of U.S. authorities before, and last year’s indictment of Korea expert Sue Mi Terry, a former CIA analyst accused of failing to register as a foreign agent for Seoul, has exacerbated KF’s fears of being seen as a foreign agent itself, Korea Pro’s investigation found.
Think tanks that have received Korea Foundation money in recent years include the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Center for a New American Security (CNAS), RAND Corporation, Atlantic Council, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Stimson Center, and the Brookings Institution.
Korea Pro said it could find only $731,592 of Japan Foundation donations recorded for US-based think tanks and research organizations between 2019-2023, compared to the over $9.4 million provided by Korea Foundation.
Korea Pro also pointed out that in 2021, the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) National Security Division allegedly wrote to KF, recommending that it consider FARA registration for work in the US. But the Foundation reportedly objected on the grounds that it is an “independent organization … engaged in cultural and academic exchanges exempt from FARA.”
