Prime Minister Han Duck-soo delivers a speech of encouragement at a dinner meeting with overseas Koreans and Korean business representatives at Hilton Americas-Houston in Texas, Sunday local time. Yonhap

By Lee Hae-rin

The government is considering lowering the age at which people are eligible for dual citizenship, according to Prime Minister Han Duck-soo at a meeting with overseas Koreans in Houston, Texas, Sunday.

The prime minister's visit to the Korean community in Houston was part of his itinerary which also took him to three Latin American countries ― Chile, Uruguay and Argentina ― to hold talks on resource cooperation and to promote South Korea's bid to host the 2030 World Expo in Busan. At a dinner meeting with Korean Americans and Korean business representatives at Hilton Americas-Houston, Han said he expects "good results to come out" of the plan to lower the age of eligibility for dual citizenship.

In Korea, dual citizenship is not allowed except for those who are 65 or older. Dual citizenship is granted to overseas Koreans who wish to return to Korea in their later years with the condition that they pledge not to exercise their rights as foreign nationals while residing in the country.

At the time, the minimum age was set to the retirement age due to concerns that newly returning Koreans from overseas could replace existing local Koreans in the workforce.

However, overseas Koreans have been requesting that the government lower the minimum age for dual citizenship. They believe that they can contribute to the country's development with their overseas connections and prefer to engage in such economic activities before retirement in Korea.

In response, some lawmakers are proposing a revision to meet their demands at the National Assembly.

Rep. Kim Seok-ki of the ruling People Power Party (PPP), who heads the party's overseas Korean committee, proposed an amendment in April this year to the Nationality Act that lowers the minimum age from 65 to 55. Thirteen other PPP lawmakers joined Kim to support the proposal and the revised bill will be discussed in a regular session of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee this year.

The prime minister also reaffirmed President Yoon Suk-yeol's interest in supporting overseas Koreans.

"President Yoon Suk-yeol truly cares about overseas Koreans," Han said. "We confirmed that we will establish an office for overseas Koreans, which has been your long-cherished wish."

On Oct. 6, the government announced its plans to abolish the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family and create a new government agency for overseas Koreans under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Overseas Korean communities have continuously expressed growing and diverse demands for government support from the Yoon administration. In March, a coalition of 92 overseas Korean groups held a press conference at the National Assembly, demanding that the incoming administration support the 7.32 million ethnic Koreans living overseas as a major government project. This support includes the establishment of a government agency for overseas Koreans and legislation to reflect their voices.

In response, Foreign Affairs Minister Park Jin announced in September that the Yoon administration has made establishing an agency for overseas Koreans one of its 100 major government projects, although the agency was not included in the initial plans for the administration as announced by the presidential transition committee this past March.