LOS ANGELES (Jan. 17, 2011)  — The Asian Pacific American Legal Center condemns derogatory remarks against Korean Americans expressed by co-host John Kobylt (KFI 640) during the Jan. 5 broadcast of Clear Channel’s “The John and Ken Show.”

The press conference was held at the Korean Resource Center, and also included speakers from National Korean American Service and Education Consortium, Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance, Korean American Bar Association and the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles.

“As a civil rights organization, the Asian Pacific American Legal Center, a member of the Asian American Center for Advancing Justice, strongly condemns ‘The John and Ken show’ for its ongoing campaign against immigrants and immigrant communities,” said Senior Staff Attorney Yungsuhn Park. “The show has targeted innocent individuals and groups, including the Korean American community as well as immigrant rights leaders and organizers.”

As an organization dedicated to combating injustice and hate against Asian and other immigrant communities, Park said APALC stands in support of the Korean American community and organizations, such as Korean Resource Center, who demand that Clear Channel and KFI AM pull this show from the air.

Southern California is home to the largest Korean population outside of Korea and is one of the largest and most diverse immigrant communities in the United States.

“There is no room for the kind of hateful and divisive rhetoric that the show regularly employs,” Park added.

APALC is contacting the radio program’s remaining advertisers, that include Chevron, Hyundai North America and Target, to stop supporting the Ken & John show and to remove their financial support from the show.

“APALC is a supporting organization of the “Take John and Ken Off the Air” campaign, which is organized by the National Hispanic Media Coalition,” he said.

The Asian Pacific American Legal Center, a member of the Asian American Center for Advancing Justice, is the nation’s largest Asian American legal and civil rights organization and serves more than 15,000 individuals and organizations every year.

Founded in 1983, APALC’s mission is to advocate for civil rights, provide legal services and education, and build coalitions to positively influence and impact Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders and to create a more equitable and harmonious society.

Through direct legal services, impact litigation, policy analysis and advocacy, leadership development and capacity building, APALC seeks to serve the most vulnerable members of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (NHPI) communities while also building a strong Asian American and NHPI voice for civil rights and social justice.