On December 12, the Central & Southern U.S. Council held a meeting with senior officials of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, bringing together the Council’s executive leadership and 24 IGN members representing seven states: California (CA), North Carolina (NC), Oklahoma (OK), Texas (TX), Georgia (GA), Tennessee (TN), and Arkansas (AR).

During the meeting, participants met with Clint O’Neal, Secretary of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, to discuss potential areas of mutual cooperation among the Korean American Federation, IGN, and the State of Arkansas. The discussion focused on strengthening economic collaboration and expanding engagement between the Korean American business community and state-level institutions.

Secretary O’Neal expressed strong support for the initiative, noting that the meeting would serve as an important opportunity to introduce Arkansas more broadly to the Korean American community. He added that such exchanges would be beneficial in attracting Korean companies to the state and supporting their long-term settlement and growth. As a gesture encouraging participants to actively promote Arkansas, he presented all attendees with the “Arkansas Traveler Certificate.”

The meeting highlighted growing interest in deeper cooperation between the Korean American economic network and the State of Arkansas, with expectations for continued collaboration in the future.