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52
for KAPA. Choi accepted the position and agreed to provide financial support.
After Consul Kim retired from the Korean foreign service, he became KAPA vice
president; in 1975 he succeeded Choi as president. Branch chapters of KAPA
were established in 10 other American cities.
The stated purpose of KAPA was to organize Korean Americans and Korean
residents into a nationwide organization designed to encourage their political
participation and represent their interests in U.S. politics. The organizers of
KAPA hoped to mobilize Korean communities to help elect political candidates
through financial contributions and active participation in their campaigns. The
bylaws call for the appointment of a KAPA lobbyist in Washington, D.C., to serve
the interests of the Korean minority. (417) Federal 'income tax returns indicate
that initial funding in 1971 came from contributions by two individuals, Choi Sang
Ik ($19,166.16) and Lee Hwal Woong ($10,000). Lee was a consul at the ROK
consulate in Los Angeles from late 1968 through November 1971. According to
Lee, he was asked by Consul Kim Doo Whan to raise funds for KAPA and
succeeded in securing a $10,000 contribution from Los Angeles businessman
Kim Joong Chung, which Lee passed along to KAPA. (418)
In addition, KAPA
received loans from private individuals affiliated with the International Re-
education Foundation in San Francisco and from the foundation itself.
According to KAPA records, it received approximately $1,500 per month from
Choi Sang Ik between 1972 and 1975 to offset operating costs. From 1975 to
1977, Cho Woo Euk Man, another Moon organization figure who lives in Hawaii,
assumed responsibility for these monthly payments and became chairman of the
board of directors. In all, Cho Woo contributed over $26,000 to KAPA. Other
small contributions to KAPA were made by private individuals periodically during
its lifetime. For example, Park Tongsun told the subcommittee he gave KAPA
$500.
The principal activity of KAPA in its first year of operation was the inaugural
convention on December 11, 1971, held at the Reeducation Association in San
Francisco. Former Congressman Richard Hanna told the subcommittee that he
was asked by Pak Bo Hi,
35O
an associate of Sun Myung Moon, to be the guest speaker at the convention.
(419)
KAPA activities included supporting the campaigns of various National and
State politicians. On several occasions, KAPA donated funds to these
campaigns. In 1974, it contributed $5,000 to the gubernatorial campaign of
Edmund G. Brown. After the campaign, Mayor Alioto offered KAPA the
opportunity to suggest the names of members of the Korean community to be
considered for the position of city commissioner. Before suggesting anyone, Choi
Sang Ik, KAPA president, wrote to the ROK Consul General of San Francisco on
January 24, 1972, and asked for his recommendations. The Consul General,
declined to make any.
A number of incidents in 1972 indicated that some KAPA leaders attempted
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