Justin Hwang is an American restaurateur and politician from Oregon serving as the chair of the

Oregon Republican Party The Oregon Republican Party is the state affiliate of the United States Republican Party in Oregon, headquartered in Salem. The party was established in the Oregon Territory in February 1857 as the "Free State Republican Party of Oregon" and he ...

since 2022. He is the first Asian American and

Korean American Korean Americans are Americans of Korean ancestry (mostly from South Korea). In 2015, the Korean-American community constituted about 0.56% of the United States population, or about 1.82 million people, and was the fifth-largest Asian American ...

to serve in the position. He previously served briefly as the vice chair from May to July of the same year. Hwang previously made unsuccessful bids for election to the Oregon House of Representatives and Oregon State Senate in

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

and

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

, respectively.

Personal life and business career

Hwang immigrated to the United States from

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

as a child and obtained American citizenship in 2006. He is the founder of Joy Teriyaki, a restaurant chain in the

Portland metropolitan area The Portland metropolitan area is a metro area in the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington centered on the principal city of Portland, Oregon. The U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) identifies it as the Portland–Vancouver–Hillsboro, ...

and owner of Fairview Food Plaza. Hwang has lived in east

Multnomah County Multnomah County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 815,428. Multnomah County is part of the Portland–Vancouver– Hillsboro, OR–WA Metropolitan Statistical Area. Th ...

since 2003.

Oregon politics

Candidacies

Hwang ran in both the 2018 Oregon House of Representatives election and the 2020 Oregon State Senate election, losing both times to state senator and former state representative

Chris Gorsek Chris Gorsek (born January 28, 1958 in Portland, Oregon) is an American politician and a Democratic member of the Oregon State Senate representing District 25 since January 11, 2021. Background Gorsek earned his Bachelor of Science and Master o ...

. Hwang accused incumbent Gorsek as using anti-immigrant language in a mailer sent to voters in 2018. In his 2020 state senate campaign, he was running to represent Oregon's 25th Senate district and focused on school funding for Mt. Hood Community College.

Oregon Republican Party

Hwang became the chair of the

in July 2022 after briefly serving as the vice chair since May 2022. His incumbency was preceded by several resignations from positions within the state party, including state senator Dallas Heard and former state senator and Josephine County commissioner Herman Baertschiger, who resigned from the position in early 2022. As chair, Hwang has been critical of both Oregon governor

Kate Brown Katherine Brown (born June 21, 1960) is an American politician and attorney serving as the 38th governor of Oregon since 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, she served three terms as the state representative from the 13th district of the ...

and president Joe Biden regarding the 2021–2022 inflation surge.

References

External links

Campaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hwang, Justin Living people 1984 births Oregon Republican Party chairs Portland, Oregon Republicans American politicians of Korean descent South Korean emigrants to the United States Candidates in the 2020 United States elections Candidates in the 2018 United States elections Asian conservatism in the United States