In order to become President of the U.S., one must be born within the boundaries of the U.S. and be at least 35 years old. President Obama was born in Hawaii, yet since his father was a Kenyan citizen, he was a Kenyan citizen according to Kenyan law. Fortunately, Kenyan law operated to automatically revoke Mr. Obama’s Kenyan citizenship when he turned 23. Therefore, Kenyan law did not affect Mr. Obama’s presidency.
However, South Korean law treats U.S. citizens with at least one parent holding Korean citizenship as Korean citizens. Men holding duel citizenship with Korea have until the age of 18 years and 3 months to choose one nationality. If they fail to do so, they cannot renounce their Korean citizenship until the age of 38. Therefore, this law could prevent a “Korean-American Obama”.