Sukhee Kang (born 15 September 1952) is an American

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politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

from

Orange County, California Orange County is located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,186,989, making it the third-most-populous county in California, the sixth-most-populous in the United States, a ...

. From 2008 to 2012, Kang served as

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Irvine, California Irvine () is a Planned community, master-planned city in South Orange County, California, United States, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Irvine Company started developing the area in the 1960s and the city was formally incorporated on ...

, the first

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 Americans ...

to serve as mayor of a major American city. Kang current serves as the Regional Administrator for GSA’s Northwest/Arctic Region. Born and educated in South Korea, Kang immigrated to Southern California and became involved in civic life following the

1992 Los Angeles riots The 1992 Los Angeles riots, sometimes called the 1992 Los Angeles uprising and the Los Angeles Race Riots, were a series of riots and civil disturbances that occurred in Los Angeles County, California, in April and May 1992. Unrest began in S ...

. Kang was elected to the Irvine City Council twice, serving from 2004 to 2008. Kang was elected twice to Mayor of Irvine, serving from 2008 to 2012. In 2012, Kang ran for

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

in the 45th House District. Kang placed in the primary election, but lost to incumbent John Campbell in the general election. In 2016, Kang ran for the

California State Senate The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature, the lower house being the California State Assembly. The State Senate convenes, along with the State Assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Cal ...

in the 29th district, but did not place in the top two positions to succeed past the primary election.

Early life and education

Kang was born at Yeji-dong near

Jongno Jongno or Jong-ro ( ko, 종로), literally meaning "Bell Street", is a trunk road and one of the oldest major east–west thoroughfares in Seoul, South Korea. Jongno connects Gwanghwamun Plaza to Dongdaemun. The area surrounding Jongno is a p ...

5-ga in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

, to merchant parents from the city of

Kaesong Kaesong (, ) is a special city in the southern part of North Korea (formerly in North Hwanghae Province), and the capital of Korea during the Taebong kingdom and subsequent Goryeo dynasty. The city is near the Kaesong Industrial Region close t ...

, in what is now

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

. He served

military draft Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day und ...

duty in the

Republic of Korea Army The Republic of Korea Army (ROKA; ko, 대한민국 육군; Hanja: 大韓民國陸軍; RR: ''Daehanminguk Yuk-gun''), also known as the ROK Army or South Korean Army, is the army of South Korea, responsible for ground-based warfare. It is the l ...

from 1973-75 and immigrated to the United States in June 1977 from South Korea after receiving his bachelor's degree in agricultural economics from

Korea University Korea University (KU, ) is a private research university in Seoul, South Korea, established in 1905. The university is included as one of the SKY universities, a popular acronym referring to Korea's three most prestigious universities. The ...

Seongbuk-gu Seongbuk District (Seongbuk-gu) is one of the 25 ''Administrative Divisions of South Korea, gu'' which make up the city of Seoul, South Korea. It is located in the mid-north part of the city. The current Mayor is Kim Young-bae (김영배), who has ...

. When he was in a college, he joined the English debating club named Seoul PTC (Pine Tree Club) and served as the president from 1971-72. He received an honorary doctoral degree in Business Administration from

Dongseo University Dongseo University (DSU) is a private university in Busan, the second largest city of South Korea. Established in 1992 through the Dongseo Educational Foundation, it provides higher education to approximately 11,000 full-time students, includi ...

Busan Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, w ...

in March 2011.

Career

Early career and activism

Kang began his professional career at

Circuit City Circuit City is an American consumer electronics retail company, which was founded in 1949 by Samuel Wurtzel as the Wards Company, operated stores across the United States, and pioneered the electronics superstore format in the 1970s. After m ...

as a sales and customer service representative; he worked with Circuit City for 15 years, from 1977 until 1992. Since 1992, Kang volunteered at the Korean American Scholarship Foundation (KASF), the Korean American Community Fund (KACF), the

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

Branch of Korean American Corporation, and served as the president of the Korean American Democratic Committee (KADC).

Entrance into politics

Kang first got involved in politics following the

, during which more than 750 Korean businesses suffered extensive losses. Following the riots, Kang took on a more active role in civic and community affairs, and served as Chairman of the Korean American Coalition of Orange County and the Korean American Scholarship Foundation, Western Region. Prior to his service on the Irvine City Council, Kang was a Governor's appointee on the California Workforce Investment Board and was the Mayor's appointee to the Irvine Finance Commission. In November 2004, he was elected Irvine City Councilmember, and was re-elected in November 2006. He served twice as the Mayor Pro Tem. Kang served as a member of the Orange County Great Park Board, Orange County Sanitation District Board, Transportation Corridor Agency Board, Executive Steering Committee of the

League of California Cities The League of California Cities is an association of cities within the state of California, founded in 1898. Most of the state's 482 cities are represented in the league. The League publishes ''Western City'', a monthly magazine, and holds an annu ...

Orange County Division, and Orange County Transportation Authority Measure M Super Committee.

Mayor of Irvine

In November 2008 Sukhee Kang defeated Christina L. Shea, a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

councilwoman, with 52.2% of the vote, to become the first Korean American to serve as mayor of a major U.S. city. Kang was elected to a second term in November 2010 after defeating Christopher Gonzales, a Republican Party candidate, with 63.21% of the vote. As mayor, Kang backed a $120 million deal with the Orange County Transportation Authority to lay the groundwork for a citywide public transit system. Kang endorsed the

Northwood Gratitude and Honor Memorial The Northwood Gratitude and Honor Memorial is a memorial in Irvine, California, to American troops who died in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The names on the memorial come from US DoD casualty records for Operation Enduring Freedom, Operati ...

and worked to achieve the unanimous Irvine City Council vote for its approval in December, 2009. The Northwood Gratitude and Honor Memorial, dedicated on 14 November 2010, has 5,714 names of U.S. service members that lost their lives in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

and

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

. It will be updated annually as needed.

Personal life

Sukhee Kang is married to his wife Joanne Kang (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Choi) in 1977. Sukhee was honored by the Father's Day Council of Orange County as Father of the year in 2012.http://main.diabetes.org/site/PageServer?pagename=FOTY_OrangeCounty_Sukhee

Electoral history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kang, Sukhee 1952 births Living people American mayors of Korean descent California politicians of Korean descent Politicians from Seoul Mayors of Irvine, California South Korean emigrants to the United States Korea University alumni 21st-century American politicians Democratic Party mayors in California