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This article is about the California politician. For the PGA Tour golfer, see Kim Young (American golfer). For the Korean golfer, see Kim Young. For the U.S. Army officer, see Young-Oak Kim.

Young Kim
최영옥
Member-elect of the U.S. House of Representatives
from California's 39th district
Assuming office
January 3, 2021
SucceedingGil Cisneros
Member of the California State Assembly
from the 65th district
In office
December 1, 2014 – November 30, 2016
Preceded bySharon Quirk-Silva
Succeeded bySharon Quirk-Silva
Personal details
Born
Choe Young-oak

(1962-10-18) October 18, 1962 (age 62)
Incheon, South Korea
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
Charles Kim
​
(m. 1986)​
Children4
EducationUniversity of Southern California (BBA)
Korean name
Hangul
(김) 최영옥
Hanja
(金) 崔映玉[1]
Revised Romanization(Gim) Choe Yeong-ok
McCune–Reischauer(Kim) Ch'oe Yŏng'ok

Young Oak Kim (née Choe; born October 18, 1962) is an American politician and the first Korean-American woman elected to Congress, along with fellow Republican Michelle Park Steel and Democrat Marilyn Strickland. She previously served as the California State Assemblywoman for the 65th district from 2014 to 2016. A member of the Republican Party, her district includes northern parts of Orange County. She is the first Korean-American Republican woman elected to the California State Legislature.[2]

In 2018, Kim was the Republican Party candidate in California's 39th congressional district; she was defeated by Democrat Gil Cisneros in the general election. In 2020, Kim and Cisneros faced off again in a rematch, where Kim defeated Cisneros.[3] Kim, along with Michelle Steel, thus became the joint-first Republican congressional candidate to unseat an incumbent House Democrat in California since Doug Ose in District 3 in 1998.

Early life and education

Kim was born in Incheon, South Korea, and spent her childhood in Seoul. She and her family left South Korea in 1975, living first in Guam, where she finished junior high school, and then Hawaii, where she attended high school.[4]

She has a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Southern California.[5]

Career

After graduating from USC, Kim worked as a financial analyst for First Interstate Bank and then as a controller for JK Sportswear Manufacturing.[2] Kim also started her own business in the clothing industry.[4]

Kim worked for then-state senator Ed Royce after Kim's husband met Royce while promoting a nonprofit, the Korean American Coalition.[2] After Royce was elected to the U.S. House, Kim worked for him for total of 21 years as the congressman's community liaison and director of Asian affairs.[4] During much of that time she also appeared regularly on her own television show, "LA Seoul with Young Kim", and her own radio show, "Radio Seoul", on which she discussed political issues affecting Korean Americans.[2]

California Assembly

She was elected to the Assembly in 2014, defeating Democratic Assemblymember Sharon Quirk-Silva. In 2016, in turn, Quirk-Silva defeated Kim in a re-match.[6]

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2018 general election

Main article: 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in California § District 39

In 2017, Kim announced she would be running for the Orange County Board of Supervisors, a nonpartisan office, in the 4th district, which includes the cities of Fullerton, Placentia, La Habra, and Brea, plus portions of Anaheim and Buena Park.[7] However, in January 2018, immediately after Royce announced his retirement, Kim publicly declared that she would instead enter the race to succeed Royce as the representative for California's 39th congressional district.[8] Royce endorsed Kim the day after announcing his retirement.[4] Kim came in first place in the primary election among a crowded field of 17 candidates, allowing her to advance to the general election along with Democrat Gil Cisneros.

Polls showed a tight race throughout the campaign, with FiveThirtyEight rating the race as a toss-up.[9] Early results on the night of the election showed Kim holding a 52.5%-47.5% lead,[10][11] but Kim ultimately lost the election to Cisneros, who received 51.6% of the vote to Kim's 48.4% after mail-in ballots were counted.[12] She conceded on November 18.[13]

2020 general election

Young Kim campaigning in 2019
Main article: 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in California § District 39

In April 2019, Kim announced her candidacy to run again for the 39th district seat. Immediately after her announcement, top party officials rallied behind Kim, including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.[14] In March 2020, Kim received 48.3% of the vote compared to Cisneros' 46.9%, and thus, both advanced out of the top-two primary for an official rematch.

Kim proved to be one of the top House fundraising challengers across the nation, outraising Cisneros $5.3 million to $3.9 million.[15][16] However, unlike the previous cycle, most election observers rated the race as "Lean Democrat", with FiveThirtyEight predicting Kim had a 26 out of a 100 chance of winning.[17] The election had notable AAPI community outreach through Asian language TV ads. The DCCC released ads in Chinese, Cantonese, and Korean, while Kim released an ad in Korean.[18][19]

At the end of election night, Kim had a small lead over a thousand votes. As mail-in ballots were counted, Kim's lead continued to grow, a reversal from the trend that heavily favored Democrats in the previous election. The Associated Press projected Cisneros's defeat on November 13. She, along with Michelle Steel and Marilyn Strickland, will become the first Korean-American Congresswomen.[20] Kim and Steel also became the joint-first Republican congressional candidates to unseat an incumbent House Democrat in California since Doug Ose in 1998.

Tenure

Committee assignments

Caucus memberships

Political positions

Kim's platform in 2016 included opposing changes to Proposition 13, which limits property taxes.[21] Her 2018 congressional platform included opposition to the Affordable Care Act, support for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients, support for "the anti-sanctuary city stance taken by the County Board of Supervisors"[22] and support for chain migration.[23][24][25]

Kim opposed a California law "requiring schools to allow transgender students to use bathrooms of their choice and participate in sports by their gender identity rather than their anatomical gender." She opposed the law over concerns that new school facilities could need to be constructed, additional spending could be required, students could change their identity "on a whim", and that male-to-female transgender students would have an unfair advantage in sports. She has said transgender individuals "deserve to be respected" but that she does not believe that LGBT individuals were born with their identities or orientations.[26] In 2015, she backed a resolution in the Assembly that established June as Pride Month and recognized same-sex marriage.[27]

In 2018, NBC News reported that the issues important to Kim included "creating jobs and keeping taxes low", "beef[ing] up education funding in science, technology, engineering and math", and reforming the immigration system to "ensure those brought to the U.S. 'as children without legal documentation are treated fairly and with compassion.'"[4] She supports student loan forgiveness if the borrower is on the verge of bankruptcy.[23] Kim favors reduced regulations and increased trade.[24] She is a fiscal conservative.[28]

In June 2020, following the widespread popularity of calls to "Defund the police" in the aftermath of George Floyd's death, Kim claimed these demands were "irresponsible" and that defunding law enforcement would instead make communities more vulnerable. Instead, Kim advocated for there to be increased accountability and transparency in law enforcement, as well as an increase in training and reevaluation of guidelines to decrease the use of unnecessary force. Kim also argued that the first steps in making progress would require "treating each other with respect regardless of our race or occupation and having honest conversations without accusations or judgement."[29]

In June 2020, Kim criticized President Trump for referring to COVID-19 as "Kung Flu." She received backlash from those within her own party.[30][31]

Personal life

Kim and her husband, Charles Kim, have been married since 1986. They have four children. Their oldest, Christine, graduated from UC Irvine; the others, Hannah, Alvin, and Kelly, graduated from Cal State Fullerton.[32]

Charles Kim has served as president of Inter-Community Action Network, a non-profit based in La Habra, California that promotes positive relations between local government and the Korean community. He was also a founder of the Korean American Coalition and the Black-Korean Alliance.[33]

Electoral history

2014 California State Assembly election

See also: 2014 California State Assembly elections
California's 65th State Assembly district election, 2014
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Young Kim 21,593 54.7
Democratic Sharon Quirk-Silva (incumbent) 17,896 45.3
Total votes 39,489 100.0
General election
Republican Young Kim 42,376 54.6
Democratic Sharon Quirk-Silva (incumbent) 35,204 45.4
Total votes 77,580 100.0
Republican gain from Democratic

2016 California State Assembly election

See also: 2016 California State Assembly election
California's 65th State Assembly district election, 2016
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Sharon Quirk-Silva 42,890 54.3
Republican Young Kim (incumbent) 36,028 45.7
Total votes 78,918 100.0
General election
Democratic Sharon Quirk-Silva 69,806 52.5
Republican Young Kim (incumbent) 63,119 47.5
Total votes 132,925 100
Democratic gain from Republican

2018 California's 39th congressional district election

Main article: 2018 California's 39th congressional district election
California's 39th congressional district election, 2018
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Young Kim 30,019 21.2
Democratic Gil Cisneros 27,469 19.4
Republican Phil Liberatore 20,257 14.3
Democratic Andy Thorburn 12,990 9.2
Republican Shawn Nelson 9,750 6.9
Republican Bob Huff 8,699 6.2
Democratic Sam Jammal 7,613 5.4
Democratic Mai-Khanh Tran 7,430 5.3
Democratic Herbert H. Lee 5,988 4.2
Republican Steven C. Vargas 4,144 2.9
Democratic Suzi Park Leggett 2,058 1.5
Republican John J. Cullum 1,747 1.2
No party preference Karen Lee Schatzle 903 0.6
No party preference Steve Cox 856 0.6
Republican Andrew Sarega 823 0.6
American Independent Sophia J. Alexander 523 0.4
American Independent Ted Alemayhu 176 0.1
Total votes 141,445 100.0
General election
Democratic Gil Cisneros 126,002 51.6
Republican Young Kim 118,391 48.4
Total votes 229,860 100.0
Democratic gain from Republican

2020 California's 39th congressional district election

California's 39th congressional district primary election, 2020
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Young Kim 83,782 48.4
Democratic Gil Cisneros (incumbent) 81,133 46.8
Independent Steve Cox 8,264 4.8
Total votes 173,179 100.0
General election
Republican Young Kim 172,253 50.6
Democratic Gil Cisneros (incumbent) 168,108 49.4
Total votes 316,047 100.0
Republican gain from Democratic

See also

References

  1. ^ 加州眾議員韓裔候選人金映玉：有信心擠進初選前2名. World Journal (in Traditional Chinese). April 22, 2018. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d White, Jeremy B. "Assemblywoman Young Kim recalls parents' sacrifice to move to U.S." The Sacramento Bee. Retrieved October 22, 2018.
  3. ^ Staggs, Brooke (November 13, 2020). "Republican challenger Young Kim unseats Democratic Rep. Gil Cisneros in 39th District". The Orange County Register. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d e Fuchs, Chris. "Young Kim's Congressional campaign is a run two decades in the making". NBC. Retrieved October 22, 2018.
  5. ^ Samuel Mountjoy (December 14, 2014). "Assemblywoman Young Kim takes oath of office at CSUF". The Daily Titan. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
  6. ^ Christine Mai-Duc (November 17, 2016). "Assemblywoman Young Kim concedes in Orange County race against Sharon Quirk-Silva". LA Times. Retrieved April 30, 2017.
  7. ^ "Former assemblywoman Young Kim to run for Orange County supervisor in 2018 – Orange County Register". Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  8. ^ TODAY, ASIA (January 11, 2018). "Former Korean-American Assemblywoman Enters Race for US Congress". Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  9. ^ California Republican Young Kim aims to become 1st Korean-American woman elected to Congress (ABC News)
  10. ^ Election 2018: Republican Young Kim poised to be first Korean-American woman in Congress (Los Angeles Daily News)
  11. ^ "Election 2020 :: California Secretary of State". www.sos.ca.gov.
  12. ^ ABC7 com staff (November 18, 2018). "Democrat Gil Cisneros flips Orange County's 39th district in win over GOP's Young Kim". ABC7 Los Angeles.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  13. ^ Custodio, Spencer (November 18, 2018). "Republican Young Kim Concedes to Democrat Gil Cisneros: All 7 OC Congressional Seats Blue". Voice of OC.
  14. ^ Medina, Jennifer (October 3, 2019). "Can Young Kim Help Turn Orange County Red Again? (Published 2019)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  15. ^ "KIM, YOUNG - Candidate overview". FEC.gov. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  16. ^ "CISNEROS, GILBERT - Candidate overview". FEC.gov. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  17. ^ Silver, Nate (August 12, 2020). "2020 House Forecast". FiveThirtyEight. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  18. ^ "WATCH: DCCC's First Multilingual Asian TV Ad Slams Retread Candidate Young Kim in Cantonese, Korean, and Mandarin on Gutting Californians' Health Care". DCCC. September 29, 2020. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  19. ^ "Young Kim for Congress | Profited - Korean". Youtube.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  20. ^ "Making history: Three Korean American women, two representing California, win seats in Congress". Los Angeles Times. November 15, 2020. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  21. ^ "Young Kim for Assembly District 65". Orange County Register. October 23, 2016. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
  22. ^ Rands, Jane (April 13, 2018). "Meet Some Candidates Running to Replace Congressman Ed Royce". Fullerton Observer. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
  23. ^ a b "The Craziest Race in the House". November 3, 2018.
  24. ^ a b "39th District: Young Kim and Gil Cisneros". LA Times.
  25. ^ Meg Cunningham (November 1, 2018). "California Republican Young Kim aims to become 1st Korean-American woman elected to Congress".
  26. ^ "Schools dispute Assembly candidate's transgender-law argument". Orange County Register. October 2, 2014. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  27. ^ "Bill Text - HR-24". leginfo.legislature.ca.gov. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  28. ^ Christopher Palmeri (July 11, 2018). "Battle for House Control Runs Through California's Orange County". Bloomberg.
  29. ^ Young Kim (June 17, 2020). "Change is necessary, defunding the police is not: Young Kim". Orange County Register.
  30. ^ "GOP candidate Young Kim condemns Trump's 'kung flu' comment, with race issues dividing party". Orange County Register. June 23, 2020. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  31. ^ "What It's Like For Asian American Candidates During A Pandemic Marked By Racism". NPR.org. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  32. ^ "About Young Kim". kimforcongress2018.com. Retrieved October 22, 2018.
  33. ^ Park, Brian. "LA Riots Sped Growth of Fullerton's Korean Community". FullertonStories.com. Archived from the original on March 30, 2016. Retrieved October 22, 2018.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Young Kim (politician).
California Assembly
Preceded by Member of the California State Assembly
from the 65th district
2014–2016 		Succeeded by
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from California's 39th congressional district
Taking office 2021 		Elect
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