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. 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.
California Assembly
She was elected to the Assembly in 2014, defeating Democratic Assemblymember Sharon Quirk-Silva. In 2016, in turn, Quirk-Silva defeated Kim in a re-match.
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 FiveThirtyEight 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. She conceded on November 18.
Kim has filed for a re-match against Gil Cisneros. If elected, she would be the first Korean-American woman in Congress.
Political positions
Kim's platform in 2016 included opposing changes to Proposition 13, which limits property taxes. 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. In 2018, NBC News reported that the issues important to Kim included "creating jobs and keeping taxes low", "beef 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 supports student loan forgiveness if the borrower is on the verge of bankruptcy. 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." She opposed the law over concerns 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 individuals "deserve to be respected" but that she does not believe that LGBT individuals were born with their identities or orientations. Kim also opposes same-sex marriage. Kim favors reduced regulations and increased trade. She is a fiscal conservative.
Personal life
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 Kim has served as president of Inter-Community Action Network, a non-profit based in La Habra, California that promotes positive relations between local government and the Korean community. He was also a founder of the Korean American Coalition and the Black-Korean Alliance.
Electoral history
2014 California State Assembly election
2016 California State Assembly election
2018 California's 39th congressional district election
