The 2005 annual dinner was one of, if not, the largest Korea-related event ever held in New York City. The dinner was held in the Grand Ballroom of the Waldorf-Astoria. It drew nearly 1,000 guests. No doubt, the turnout was a reflection of the high profiles of the guests for the event: Roh Moo-hyun, president of the Republic of Korea and the dinner’s keynote speaker, as well as George H.W. Bush, former president of the U.S. who was the recipient of the 2005 Van Fleet Award. Both delivered very personal and uplifting messages that were well-received by the dinner guests.

Befitting the high profile of the event, there was an unprecedented number of dinner chairs. They were: William R. Rhodes, chairman, Citibank N.A. and senior vice chairman, Citigroup Inc.; Shin-Ho Kang, chairman, The Federation of Korean Industries; Jae-Chul Kim, chairman & CEO, Korea International Trade Association; Michael Ahn, president & CEO, LG Electronics, North American Headquarters; John B. Hynes, president & CEO, Gale International, New Songdo City; Dong-Jin Oh, president & CEO, Samsung Electronics America, Inc.; and James F. McCabe, CEO, Americas, Standard Chartered Bank.

The entertainment for the evening was provided by the renowned soprano Youngok Shin who offered an exquisite program of Italian operatic arias and Korean art songs.

Lastly, the evening ended on an extraordinarily uplifting high note when FKI Chairman Kang Shin-ho came to the podium and presented former President George H.W. Bush with a check for $10 million as a contribution toward Bush-Clinton Katrina Relief Fund.