Bringing back the partnership

Photo By Pfc. Daehyun Kim | The USAG Daegu Internship Program is the U.S. Army's dedication to strengthening the U.S-ROK Alliance and contribution to the Korean community by providing local university students with an internship in the garrison.  

DAEGU, SOUTH KOREA

04.01.2021

Courtesy Story

U.S. Army Garrison Daegu

CAMP HENRY, Republic of Korea — The USAG Daegu Internship Program is the U.S. Army's dedication to strengthening the U.S-ROK Alliance and contribution to the Korean community by providing local university students with an internship in the garrison. For the Korean universities participating in this program, they can provide students a job experience within an international environment and help them develop their future careers in the global marketplace.

The initial program began in 2003 with a small group of students from one of Korea's prestigious national universities, the Kyungpook National University, located in the northern part of Daegu city. With a successful debut, the program attracted interest from other universities in the Gyeongsang region. In September 2009, Busan city joined the internship program, and year after, in 2010, the USAG Internship Program extended to other garrisons, as the program received credit from the former Commanding General of USFK, General Burwell B. Bell.

As a benchmark for all other internship programs, USAG Daegu Internship Program now has major universities in Area Ⅳ participating in the program becoming a symbol of the US-ROK partnership and the instrument of building a positive relationship. However, in 2018, the program paused due to the revision of Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance (IACI) by the Korean Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL). Students' coverage for the IACI as interns at USAG became an issue as the Army garrison was not yet registered business organization in Korea.

The program remained closed until June 2019, when USAG Daegu Commander Col. Edward Ballanco formed a taskforce to resume the internship program. Under his command, Mr. Raymond Myers, Dr. John McCraw, Mr. David Goforth, Mr. Brandon Iriye, Ms. Unchu An, and Mr. Chong Yong Kon started reviewing the IACI problem to resume the USAG Internship Program. Camp Humphreys Public Affairs Office, Eighth U.S. Army Director of Human Resources Management (DHRM), and the United States Forces Korea (USFK) Foreign Labor Program staff personnel joined the USAG members to discuss the solution.

Finally, on March 3rd, thanks to the hard work and continuous effort of USAG and USFK members, the USAG Daegu Internship resumed after nearly two years of stoppage. Of course, because of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, the whole plan may have faced further delays; however, thanks to strict COVID-19 prevention procedures and the HPCON mission in the garrison, the program successfully proceeded.

Now, our student interns started their six months journey learning and developing their skills with the help of our garrison members. Dr. McCraw, the Chief of USAG Daegu Education Services and supervisor of the USAG Daegu Internship Program, encouraged student interns to learn as much as they can while working in the garrison. He also highlighted that the program and the interns were the bridge between the U.S. and the Korean community to build a positive relationship and strengthen the alliance.
(By Oh, In Yeul, USAG Daegu Public Affairs Intern)

• Date Taken: 04.01.2021
• Date Posted: 03.31.2021 20:39
• Story ID: 392786
• Location: DAEGU, KR