The impeachment of Simon Hong Lee, who became the president of the Korean-Association of the greater Atlanta Area (KAGAA) through illegal means, is gaining significant momentum in the Atlanta Korean community.
On December 17th, the Emergency Committee for the Reconstruction of KAGAA (Chairman Baek-gyu Kim) held a press conference in Duluth, announcing that they had gathered 426 signatures for the impeachment of Simon Hong Lee over the past weekend.
Simon Hong Lee, who received approximately $160,000 in insurance money for KAGAA building’s flood damage, hid the funds for 10 months until it was revealed by a tip from a member of the Korean community. The investigation also uncovered evidence that Lee had misused association funds and used KAGAA finances to pay a $50,000 election deposit for his re-election campaign last year. Following these revelations, there has been increasing pressure from the community for Lee to step down.
Although Lee previously suggested he would resign if half of the deposit ($25,000) was paid or after the Korean Festival, his recent stance has been: “I haven’t done anything wrong. I will complete my term until next year,” which has further enraged the community.
The Emergency Committee started collecting signatures for impeachment on August 17th, and by December 15th, they had gathered over 426 signatures.
According to Article 53 of KAGAA’s bylaws, “An impeachment motion against the president must be submitted to the chairperson with more than 400 signatures, clearly stating the reasons for impeachment. The chairperson is required to convene a special general meeting within 30 days from the receipt of the petition, and impeachment will be confirmed if 2/3 of the attending members vote in favor.”
The committee plans to submit the petition and signatures to the association’s chairperson, Kyung-seong Lee.
Chairman Baek-gyu Kim, the Emergency Committee stated, “We are submitting the impeachment petition to restore normalcy to KAGAA as soon as possible. While we had hoped Simon Hong Lee would apologize and resign, the situation has now become unbearable, and we can no longer wait.” He added, “Two elders continue to lie and show no shame. On behalf of the Korean community, we will carry out the impeachment and restore the association to a healthy state.” He urged, “Once the special meeting is called, we ask that many Korean community members join and support this process.”
Chairman Kim also expressed gratitude to the community, saying, “We are deeply thankful to all those who supported us and took the time to notarize the signatures.”
The committee also stated that if Kyung-seong Lee, the chairperson of KAGAA, fails to fulfill his duties as outlined in the bylaws and tries to obstruct the process, they will resort to various methods to apply pressure, including legal action.
Report by Eugene Lee, Chief Reporter
