Young Oak Kim (; born October 18, 1962) is a South Korean-born American politician and businesswoman serving as the U.S. representative for California's 40th congressional district, previously representing the 39th congressional district from 2021 to 2023. Her district includes northern parts of Orange County. In the

2020 United States House of Representatives elections The 2020 United States House of Representatives elections were held on November 3, 2020, to elect representatives from all 435 congressional districts across each of the 50 U.S. states, as well as six non-voting delegates from the District of C ...

, Kim, Michelle Park Steel, and Marilyn Strickland became the first three

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 ...

women elected to the United States Congress. Kim and Steel are also the first Korean-Americans elected to Congress from California since

Jay Kim Jay Chang Joon Kim (; born March 27, 1939) is a Korean- American politician and former member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California and ambassador for Korean-American relations. He was the first Korean American to be elected to t ...

(no relation). A member of the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

, Young Kim served as the

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

woman for the 65th district from 2014 to 2016, defeating the incumbent Democrat

Sharon Quirk-Silva Sharon Quirk-Silva (born September 17, 1962) is an American politician and educator serving as a member of the California State Assembly, representing the 65th Assembly District, which includes portions of northern Orange County, including La ...

in 2014. Kim lost the seat in a rematch with Quirk-Silva in 2016. Kim was the first South Korean-born Republican woman elected to the

California State Legislature The California State Legislature is a bicameral state legislature consisting of a lower house, the California State Assembly, with 80 members; and an upper house, the California State Senate, with 40 members. Both houses of the Legisla ...

. 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 United ...

, Kim was the Republican nominee in California's 39th congressional district, narrowly losing to Democrat Gil Cisneros in the general election. In

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

, Kim defeated Cisneros in a rematch. Along with Steel and David Valadao, Kim was among the first three Republican candidates to unseat an incumbent House Democrat in California since

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

Early life and education

Kim was born in 1962 in

Incheon Incheon (; ; or Inch'ŏn; literally "kind river"), formerly Jemulpo or Chemulp'o (제물포) until the period after 1910, officially the Incheon Metropolitan City (인천광역시, 仁川廣域市), is a city located in northwestern South Kore ...

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

Early career

After graduating from USC, Kim worked as a financial analyst for First Interstate Bank and then as a controller for JK Sportswear Manufacturing. She also started her own business in the clothing industry. Kim worked for state senator Ed Royce after her husband met Royce while promoting a nonprofit organization, the Korean American Coalition. After Royce was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, Kim worked for 21 years as his community liaison and director of Asian affairs. During much of that time she also appeared regularly on her own television show, "LA Seoul with Young Kim", and her radio show, "Radio Seoul", on which she discussed political issues affecting Korean Americans.

California State Assemblywoman

Kim was elected to the Assembly in 2014, defeating Democratic Assemblymember

. In 2016, Quirk-Silva defeated Kim. In 2014, 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." During an

Orange County Register ''The Orange County Register'' is a paid daily newspaper published in California. The ''Register'', published in Orange County, California, is owned by the private equity firm Alden Global Capital via its Digital Fiest/Media News subsidiaries. ...

interview, she said she opposed the law out of concern 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 people "deserve to be respected" but that she does not believe that LGBT individuals were born with their identities or orientations. In 2015, she and 61 other Assembly members coauthored a resolution establishing June as Pride Month and recognizing same-sex marriage. When asked about this, Kim said it was to "recognize individuals that are making contributions to our community, ncludingthe LGBTQ community." In 2016, Kim's Assembly reelection platform included opposing changes to Proposition 13, which limits

property taxes A property tax or millage rate is an ad valorem tax on the value of a property.In the OECD classification scheme, tax on property includes "taxes on immovable property or net wealth, taxes on the change of ownership of property through inheri ...

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2018 loss

In 2017, Kim announced her candidacy for the Orange County Board of Supervisors, a nonpartisan office, in the 4th district, which includes Fullerton, Placentia, La Habra, and Brea, plus portions of Anaheim and Buena Park. In January 2018, immediately after Royce announced his retirement, Kim announced that she would instead enter the race to succeed Royce as the representative for

California's 39th congressional district California's 39th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of California. The district includes parts of Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino counties, and includes Fullerton, La Habra, La Habra Heights, Brea, Bue ...

. Royce endorsed Kim the day after announcing his retirement. Kim received the most votes in the primary election among a field of 17 candidates, allowing her to advance to the general election along with the Democratic candidate Gil Cisneros. Polls showed a tight race throughout the campaign, and FiveThirtyEight called the race a toss-up.California Republican Young Kim aims to become 1st Korean-American woman elected to Congress
(ABC News) Early results on the night of the election showed Kim with a 52.5%-47.5% lead,Election 2018: Republican Young Kim poised to be first Korean-American woman in Congress
(Los Angeles Daily News) but she ultimately lost to Cisneros, who received 51.6% of the vote to Kim's 48.4% after mail-in ballots were counted. As the ongoing ballot count showed Kim losing the race, she made allegations of voter fraud but provided no evidence. She conceded on November 18.

2020

In April 2019, Kim announced that she would run again to represent the 39th district. Immediately after her announcement, top party officials rallied behind her, including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. In the March 2020 jungle primary, Kim received 48.3% of the vote to Cisneros's 46.9%, and thus both advanced out of the primary to a rematch. Kim proved to be one of the top House fund-raising challengers across the nation, outraising Cisneros $6.16 million to $4.36 million.Denkmann, Libby
Four Lessons From The Southern California House Seats Republicans Reclaimed In 2020
, '' KPCC, 89.3 FM, Southern California Public Radio'',

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. I ...

, December 3, 2020. Retrieved December 4, 2020. Unlike in the previous cycle, most election observers rated the race "Lean Democrat", with FiveThirtyEight predicting Kim had a 26% chance of winning. At the end of election night, Kim led by about 1,000 votes. As mail-in ballots were counted, her lead continued to grow, in contrast to the trend in the previous election. The Associated Press projected her as the winner on November 13. She won even as Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden carried the district by 10 points. Kim,

Michelle Steel Michelle Eunjoo Steel ( Park, born June 21, 1955) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for California's 45th congressional district since 2023, previously representing the 48th congressional district from 2021 to 2023. A ...

and Marilyn Strickland became the first Korean-American women elected to Congress.

2022

In December 2021, Kim announced that she would seek reelection in California's 40th congressional district, due to redistricting.

Tenure

On January 3, 2021, Kim was sworn in to the

117th United States Congress The 117th United States Congress is the current meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It convened in Washington, D.C., on ...

. On January 6, 2021, Kim voted to certify Joe Biden's Electoral College victory, declining to support Trump-led efforts to contest the results. On January 13, 2021, Kim voted against the

second impeachment of Donald Trump Donald Trump, the 45th president of the United States, was impeached for the second time on January 13, 2021, one week before his term expired. It was the fourth impeachment of a U.S. president, and the second for Trump after his first imp ...

. She said she supported censuring Trump but not impeaching him. On February 4, 2021, Kim joined 10 other Republican House members voting with all voting Democrats to strip

Marjorie Taylor Greene Marjorie Taylor Greene (born May 27, 1974), also known by her initials MTG, is an American politician, businesswoman, and far-right conspiracy theorist Sources describing Greene as "far-right" include: * * * * * * * * * who has served as th ...

of her

Education and Labor Committee The Committee on Education and Labor is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. There are 50 members in this committee. Since 2019, the chair of the Education and Labor committee is Robert Cortez Scott of Virginia. Hi ...

and Budget Committee assignments in response to controversial political statements she had made. On February 25, 2021, Kim voted against the Equality Act, a bill that would prohibit discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation by amending the

Civil Rights Act of 1964 The Civil Rights Act of 1964 () is a landmark civil rights and United States labor law, labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on Race (human categorization), race, Person of color, color, religion, sex, and nationa ...

and the

Fair Housing Act The Civil Rights Act of 1968 () is a landmark law in the United States signed into law by United States President Lyndon B. Johnson during the King assassination riots. Titles II through VII comprise the Indian Civil Rights Act, which applie ...

to explicitly include new protections. In a subsequent statement, Kim stated that she believed that all people should be treated with respect and given equal opportunities, but justified her vote on the grounds that the bill "undermines Americans’ religious freedoms, limits protections for people of faith and opens the door to ending the decades-long bipartisan Hyde Amendment." On February 27, 2021, Kim joined all Republicans to vote against the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, citing lack of bipartisanship and criticizing the bill for only having 9% of the funding directly going toward combating COVID-19, with most of the aid not spent until 2022.

Committee assignments

For the

118th Congress The 118th United States Congress is the next meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It is scheduled to meet in Washington ...

: * Committee on Financial Services ** Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Monetary Policy ** Subcommittee on National Security, Illicit Finance and International Financial Institutions (Vice Chair) * Committee on Foreign Affairs ** Subcommittee on Africa ** Subcommittee on the Indo-Pacific (Chair)

Caucus memberships

Problem Solvers Caucus The Problem Solvers Caucus is a bipartisan group in the United States House of Representatives that includes members equally divided between Democrats and Republicans, who seek to foster bipartisan cooperation on key policy issues. The group was c ...

*Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues *

Congressional Taiwan Caucus The Congressional Taiwan Caucus is the largest Congressional Member Organization in the United States Congress with 229 members. The caucus focuses exclusively on improving American–Taiwanese relations. Its counterpart in the Senate is the S ...

*Congressional Caucus on India and Indian-Americans * Republican Main Street Partnership *

Republican Governance Group The Republican Governance Group, originally the Tuesday Lunch Bunch and then the Tuesday Group until 2020, is a group of moderate Republicans in the United States House of Representatives. It was founded in 1994 in the wake of the Republican tak ...

Political positions

Kim is rated among the most centrist of Republican representatives by Govtrack, based on patterns of sponsorship and co-sponsorship of legislation with Democrats. She voted opposite to the majority of the Republican caucus on several key votes, among them the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act and a bill to delay spending cuts in Medicare and other services. Kim voted with the majority of the Republican caucus 96% of the time. As of January 2023, Kim had voted in line with President Joe Biden's stated position 31.0% of the time.

Domestic affairs

Kim's 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" and support for chain migration. NBC News reported that the issues important to Kim included "creating jobs and keeping taxes low", "beef ngup 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.'" She supports student loan forgiveness if the borrower is on the verge of bankruptcy. Kim favors reduced regulations and increased trade. She is a fiscal conservative.

Crime

In June 2020, after the rising calls to "

defund the police "Defund the police" is a slogan that supports removing funds from police departments and reallocating them to non-policing forms of public safety and community support, such as social services, youth services, housing, education, healthcare and o ...

" in the aftermath of

George Floyd George Perry Floyd Jr. (October 14, 1973 – May 25, 2020) was an African-American man who was murdered by a police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during an arrest made after a store clerk suspected Floyd may have used a counterfeit twe ...

's murder, Kim called these demands "irresponsible" and said that defunding law enforcement would make communities more vulnerable. She called for 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."

COVID-19

In June 2020, Kim criticized President Trump for referring to COVID-19 as " Kung Flu", and received backlash from some in her party.

LGBT

Kim opposed same-sex marriage in 2018. In 2022, Kim opposed the Respect for Marriage Act, which recognizes the validity of same-sex marriages. The law overturned the Defense of Marriage Act. She voted against the several versions of the bill that came before the House. In 2024, Kim cosponsored the Recover Pride in Service Act, which reverses the dishonorable discharge of LGBT servicemembers impacted by the Don't ask, don't tell policy. Kim has been endorsed by the Log Cabin Republicans.

Foreign affairs

Korea

Kim has expressed her concerns on the issue of divided families on the Korean Peninsula, especially Korean Americans with relatives in North Korea. In February 2021, she and Grace Meng co-sponsored H.R.826, which would require the secretary of state and the U.S. Special Envoy on North Korea Human Rights to prioritize helping reunite divided Korean American families. Kim also worked on the

comfort woman Comfort women or comfort girls were women and girls forced into sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese Army in occupied countries and territories before and during World War II. The term "comfort women" is a translation of the Japanese '' ian ...

issue from the days of

Korea under Japanese rule Between 1910 and 1945, Korea was ruled as a part of the Empire of Japan. Joseon Korea had come into the Japanese sphere of influence with the Japan–Korea Treaty of 1876; a complex coalition of the Meiji government, military, and business offic ...

and has said that victims of human trafficking and slavery should be supported. While a California assemblywoman, she attended a protest against Japan's war crimes during WWII at Pershing Square, Los Angeles during Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's 2015 visit to the U.S. During that gathering, she spoke about comfort women and demanded that the Japanese government issue an apology. In February 2021, she criticized

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

professor

John Mark Ramseyer John Mark Ramseyer (born 1954) is the Mitsubishi professor of Japanese Legal Studies at Harvard Law School. He is the author of over 10 books and 50 articles in scholarly journals. He is co-author of one of the leading corporations casebooks, Kl ...

's claims that those women were "willing sex workers" and urged him to apologize.

Personal life

Kim is married to Charles Kim, a nonprofit administrator and philanthropist. They currently live in Anaheim Hills, California, and previously lived in La Habra and Fullerton. They have four children. Kim is a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

. In 2021, Kim was named by

Carnegie Corporation of New York The Carnegie Corporation of New York is a philanthropic fund established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to support education programs across the United States, and later the world. Carnegie Corporation has endowed or otherwise helped to establis ...

as an honoree of the

Great Immigrants Award The Great Immigrants Award is an annual initiative by the Carnegie Corporation of New York to honor naturalized citizens of the United States who have made significant contributions to American society, democracy, and culture. Established in 200 ...

Electoral history

2014 California State Assembly election

2016 California State Assembly election

2018 California's 39th congressional district election

2020 California's 39th congressional district election

2022 California's 40th congressional district election

Notes

References

External links

Representative Young Kim
official U.S. House website
Young Kim for Congress
campaign website
Join California Young Kim
* , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Kim, Young 1962 births Living people 21st-century American legislators 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century California politicians American women of Korean descent in politics Asian American and Pacific Islander state legislators in California Members of the United States House of Representatives of Asian descent Asian conservatism in the United States California Republicans California politicians of Korean descent Candidates in the 2018 United States House of Representatives elections Female members of the United States House of Representatives People from Anaheim Hills, California People from Fullerton, California People from Incheon Politicians from Orange County, California Protestants from California Republican Party members of the California State Assembly Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from California South Korean emigrants to the United States University of Southern California alumni Women state legislators in California