Vitalii Oleksandrovych Kim ( uk, Віталій Олександрович Кім; born 13 March 1981) is a Ukrainian businessman and politician who has been the Governor of Mykolaiv Oblast since 2020. He is also head of the Mykolayiv Regional Military Administration.

Biography

Vitalii Oleksandrovych Kim was born on 13 March 1981 in Mykolaiv. His father, Oleksandr, is an honored basketball coach of

Koryo-saram Koryo-saram ( ko, 고려사람; russian: Корё сарам; uk, Корьо-сарам) is the name which ethnic Koreans in the post-Soviet states use to refer to themselves. The term is composed of two Korean words: "", a historical name for ...

ancestry, and was a player on the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

youth team. Kim graduated from the Mykolaiv Gymnasium No. 2 and the

Admiral Makarov National University of Shipbuilding The Admiral Makarov National University of Shipbuilding in Mykolaiv is a higher education institution which trains specialists for the shipbuilding and allied industries of Ukraine. The university is named after Russian admiral Stepan Makarov, ...

with a degree in enterprise economics. In 1998, he began to engage in entrepreneurial activity. He was the managing partner of the Ushuaja entertainment complex. In 2003, he worked for the Ukrpromresurs company, which was engaged in public sector auditing. From 2005 to 2011 he managed a number of enterprises in Mykolaiv, was engaged in international investments. From 2015 to 2016, he headed the analytical department of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy of Ukraine. He is also a founder of a group of development companies, engaged in the construction of residential complexes "Orange", "Concert" and "Uyutny".

Political activity

In 2019, he was a volunteer of the Mykolaiv branch of the Servant of the People party in the

presidential President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese fu ...

and parliamentary elections. During the local elections of 2020, he was a candidate for deputies of the Mykolaiv city council from Servant of the People under No. 2, while remaining non-partisan. Kim was also the head of the party's election headquarters and campaigned for the city and regional councils. On 25 November 2020,

President of Ukraine The president of Ukraine ( uk, Президент України, Prezydent Ukrainy) is the head of state of Ukraine. The president represents the nation in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the state, condu ...

Volodymyr Zelenskyy Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy, ; russian: Владимир Александрович Зеленский, Vladimir Aleksandrovich Zelenskyy, (born 25 January 1978; also transliterated as Zelensky or Zelenskiy) is a Ukrainian politicia ...

appointed Kim governor of Mykolaiv Oblast. During the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

, Kim's role as governor of Mykolaiv Oblast made him prominent as Mykolaiv faced an ultimately-unsuccessful attack from Russian forces. Regarded by western sources such as

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Econo ...

as a charismatic leader, he has held daily video updates of the oblast's situation, which have garnered a following and established him as a popular figure across Ukraine due to his wit and mockery of the Russian Army. On 29 March 2022, his office was hit by a Russian missile in an

airstrike An airstrike, air strike or air raid is an offensive operation carried out by aircraft. Air strikes are delivered from aircraft such as blimps, balloons, fighters, heavy bombers, ground attack aircraft, attack helicopters and drones. The offic ...

, killing at least 37 people.

Personal life

Family

He is married to Yuliya Vitalivna Kim, and is raising three children. They have two daughters, Yevheniya and Oleksandra, and one son, Ruslan. In addition to his native

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

, Kim speaks Russian and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, in addition to some

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

and Korean, the latter owing to his Koryo-saram ancestry.

Health

On 9 December 2020, Kim stated that his wife may have contracted

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

and went into self-isolation.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kim, Vitalii 1981 births Living people Governors of Mykolaiv Oblast Politicians from Mykolaiv Servant of the People (political party) politicians Ukrainian politicians of Korean descent People of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine Koryo-saram