WASHINGTON – Several prominent Korean Americans were part of the festive Asian Pacific-American Inaugural Ball Thursday night, pushing for a more robust cooperation between Asian countries and Washington and a Trump presidency that improves the U.S. economy through partnerships with South Korea and others in the region.
About 1,000 people attended the gala hosted by the Trump-Pence Asian Pacific American Advisory Committee and the National Committee of Asian American Republicans.
“This is to celebrate ethnicity and diversity,” said Herman Martir, chairman for communication at the committee.
Martir believes President-elect Donald Trump is going to work very hard with all segments of Americans as he works to “put America first.”
Those at the gala in the prestigious Mayflower Hotel talked about ways that Trump will work to improve the economy by involving Asian countries.
“I want to represent my country. … We are here for the new president,” said Theresa Nam, vice chairman of the Korean American Association of Washington Metropolitan Area, who has lived in the U.S. for 40 years.
Nam said the U.S. has been overly involved in the Middle East and needs to focus more on Asia and other regions. “I want Trump to play fair for the United States and for other countries,” she said. “And I believe he will focus the work with Asia – India, Indonesia and Korea.”
Martir predicted Trump “will work with the Asian community, the invisible minority and the biggest taxpayers in the nation.” He cited a private meeting he had with Trump during the campaign in which Trump said he considered the Asian community as the most hard-working group.
Small business owners and entrepreneurs were among the attendees as they viewed Trump as a successful businessman and will fix the economy.
Korean-American Peter Han, CEO of PK Property, a real estate company based in Pennsylvania, is a big fan of Trump.
Han, a registered Republican, said he has been a loyal supporter of Trump since the Republican expressed his intention of running for president three years ago.
Those at the celebration, which went to midnight, chanted, “What are we gonna do tomorrow? Make America great again.”
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