Australia-Korea Foundation Board appointments

I welcome the appointments of Ms Jacinta Thompson, Dr Ruth Barraclough and Mr Chris Raciti to the Board of the Australia-Korea Foundation (AKF).

The AKF brings together eminent Australians with public and private sector expertise to advise the Government on how to deepen further cooperation with the Republic of Korea.

The Republic of Korea is a vital strategic and economic partner for Australia, and our fourth largest trading partner.

Ms Thompson is the Executive Director at the Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre at the University of South Australia. She was formerly the Artistic Director of the OzAsia Festival at Adelaide Festival Centre. She is on the steering committee of Asia Pacific Centre for Arts and Cultural Leadership and a member of the Association for Asia Pacific Performing Arts Centres.

Dr Barraclough is an Associate Professor at the College of Asia and the Pacific at the Australian National University. She researches contemporary Korean history, gender studies and literature, and translates Korean literary fiction. Dr Barraclough's second book Factory Girl Literature was translated into Korean in 2017 and spent 20 weeks on the history bestseller list in the Republic of Korea.

Mr Raciti is the Chief Executive Officer for ANZ Korea. Mr Raciti relocated to Seoul from Hong Kong where he held senior roles in ANZ's market leading Loan Syndication and Structured Finance business. Mr Raciti has been with ANZ for more than 15 years in Australia, Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong.

I thank outgoing AKF Board members, Professor James Cotton, Mr Ian Williams and Professor Susan Street AO, for their commitment and dedication to deepening the bilateral relationship between Australia and the Republic of Korea.

I look forward to continuing to work with the AKF Board, which also includes Chair Mr Peter Coleman, Ms Georgina Carnegie and Dr Naomi Mathers.