Young Kim Biography
Young O. Kim is an American politician who formerly served in the California State Assembly as a Republican representing the 65th Assembly District, encompassing parts of northern Orange County. She is the first Korean-American Republican woman to become a state legislator in California. Born on October 18, 1962, Kim was the Republican Party candidate in California’s 39th congressional district.
Kim was defeated by Gil Cisneros in the general election. Had she won, Kim would have become the first Korean-American woman elected to CongressKim was born in Incheon, South Korea, and spent her childhood in Seoul. She and her family left South Korea in 1975, living first on Guam, where she finished junior high school.
She began studies at the University of Southern California in 1981 and earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from that institution. After graduating from USC, Kim worked as a financial analyst for First Interstate Bank and then as a controller for JK Sportswear Manufacturing. Kim also started her own business in the ladieswear field.
Young Kim Political Career
Kim’s husband met Ed Royce, then a state senator, while promoting a nonprofit, the Korean American Coalition. Royce later hired Kim to work for him. When Royce was elected to the U.S. House, she continued to work for him, putting in a total of 21 years as the congressman’s 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 own radio show, “Radio Seoul,” on which she discussed political issues affecting Korean Americans.
She was elected to the Assembly in 2014, defeating Democratic Assembly member Sharon Quirk-Silva. In 2016, in turn, Quirk-Silva defeated Kim in a rematch
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. 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.
Royce endorsed Kim the day after announcing his retirement.[ Her opponent was Democrat Gil Cisneros. Polls showed a tight race throughout the campaign, with Five Thirty Eight rating the race as a toss-up.Early results on the night of the election showed Kim holding a 52.5%-47.5% lead, but Kim ultimately lost the election to Cisneros, who received 50.8% of the vote to Kim’s 49.2% after mail-in ballots were counted
Young Kim Vs Gil Cisneros
Democrat Gil Cisneros was the apparent winner in the tight race in California’s 39th Congressional District, according to NBC News, beating his Republican challenger Young Kim and bestowing the Democrats with their sixth pickup in California.
The victory was significant, given that the 39th district is one of seven seats in Orange County, a traditional GOP stronghold southeast of Los Angeles and the birthplace of President Richard Nixon. The win by Cisneros, a Navy veteran and philanthropist who took over the seat vacated by retired Republican Rep. Ed Royce, flips the district from red to blue, and means that Congressional Republicans will be shut out of Orange County for the first time since the Great Depression.
Cisneros won a $266 million lottery jackpot in 2010 and used some of that bounty to vastly outspend his Republican challenger, essentially financing his own campaign. The race for the 39th was one of the most expensive House races in the country, with Cisneros spending about $9.7 million — including $8 million of his own money — and Kim spending nearly $1.9 million.
Young Kim Husband
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.Charles has served as President of Inter-Community Action Network, a non-profit based in La Habra that promotes good relations between local government and the Korean community. He was also a founder of the Korean American Coalition and the Black-Korean Alliance
Young Kim Issues
In 2018 issues mportant to Kim included “creating jobs and keeping taxes low”, “beefing 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.'” She also supports student loan forgiveness if the borrower is on the verge of bankruptcy.
Young Kim Policy Positions
Her platform for running for Assembly in 2016 included opposing changes to Proposition 13, which limited property tax. 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”and support for chain migration.
Young Kim Trump
Kim praised Trump’s policies, urged audience to focus on Trump’s economic results, not ‘late night tweets.’ In an interview with the Korea Daily streamed live on June 7, 2018, Young Kim told the interviewer that Trump’s economic policies have strengthened America’s economy. Kim said:
“Through deregulation, our economy is growing. Through tax reform, American corporations overseas have returned to the U.S, and are producing here, reviving our economy. Seeing all of that, see in conclusion that it’s good for us. The president’s late night tweets, the way he talks, a style of talking we dislike, in conclusion, see that he helps us . . . At this time, the president we needed appeared. If you can see that, it’s OK to applaud him.
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