The active engagement of contemporary countries with diasporas has contributed to the institutionalization of diaspora policies. Quasi-state, quasi-governmental organizations that implement policies towards compatriots living abroad and formed diasporas began to emerge at the governmental level. In South Korea, the Committee on Diaspora Policy and the Overseas Koreans Foundation are responsible for collaborating with Korean diaspora.

This article examines the main goals, functions, and characteristics of these two institutions. The legal documents, the Overseas Koreans Foundation Act and the Regulations on the Committee on Diaspora Policy, demonstrate the distinction between the two institutions' functions. The Diaspora Policy Committee is in charge of developing and adopting the policy on Korean diaspora, whereas the Overseas Koreans Foundation is involved in the direct implementation of the policy but not in its development.