The wife of the current chairman of the Los Angeles Korean Festival Foundation has received a community service award from the organization her husband leads, prompting questions about the appropriateness of the recognition amid an ongoing leadership dispute.
The foundation held a VIP mixer on August 19 and presented its “Community Champion Award” to Margaret Cha, a vice president at U.S. Bank. Cha is the wife of foundation chairman Alex Cha.
According to the foundation, Jimmy Kim, general manager of the Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks, received the award in the public-sector category. Margaret Cha and U.S. Bank Assistant Vice President Johnny Chon were honored in the private-sector category.
Yonah Hong, a spokesperson for the foundation, said the recipients were selected for their contributions to the success of the Korean Festival and their continued service to the broader Los Angeles community.
The foundation maintains that Margaret Cha’s award should be considered separately from her relationship with Alex Cha.
“U.S. Bank has been a major sponsor of the Korean Festival and has supported the Korean American community as well as many other communities for a long time,” Hong said. “The award recognized those contributions.”
Still, the organization that selected and presented the award is currently led by her husband.
That has drawn criticism because a legal battle over control of the festival foundation remains unresolved. A Los Angeles County Superior Court previously invalidated the removal of several directors and the election of Alex Cha and other board members, and the leadership dispute has continued through the appeals process.
Yoonsook Park, a foundation director who was removed under Cha’s leadership but later prevailed in court in her bid to return to the board, called the award inappropriate.
“With litigation still underway, the normal course would be for Chairman Cha to leave the practical festival preparations to staff and refrain from external activities,” Park said.
“Holding a VIP mixer during such an unsettled period and then presenting an award to his own spouse was inappropriate,” he added.
The controversy adds another layer to an already contentious period for the foundation as it prepares for this year’s Los Angeles Korean Festival while questions over its leadership remain unsettled.
