This year’s election was highly anticipated, not only because we voted for presidential candidates, but also because there was a record number of Korean American candidates on the down-ticket positions.
KAGC would like to invite you in congratulating these 4 Korean Americans elected members of Congress.
1. Rep. Andy Kim (D, NJ-3)
As the only Korean American member of the current U.S. Congress until this election, Rep. Kim has been re-elected to represent New Jersey’s 3rd Congressional District. Rep Kim is the first Korean American to be elected to Congress since 1993, and the first Democrat to do so ever.
Rep. Kim grew up in southern New Jersey in the district he now represents with his parents who had immigrated from Korea. Rep. Kim attended Harvard College and was selected as a Rhodes Scholar in 2005, after which he went on to serve in the USAID, Pentagon, and White House where he advised the Secretary of Defense, Generals David Petraeus and John Allen in Afghanistan, and the National Security Council.
In the House of Representatives, Rep. Kim has supported numerous efforts to strengthen the U.S.-Korea relations through security alliance, trade partnership, and other domains of exchange. He signed onto legislation like the American Dream and Promise Act (H.R. 6), United States and Republic of Korea Alliance Support Act (H.R. 889), resolution supporting the goals and ideals of Korean American Day (H.Res. 38), resolution commemorating the centennial anniversary of Korea’s March First Movement Day (H.Res. 164), resolution encouraging reunions of divided Korean-American families (H.Res. 410), Korean American VALOR Act (H.R. 5590), and the resolution calling for a formal end of the Korean war (H.Res. 152) as an original co-sponsor and co-sponsored the Partner with Korea Act (H.R. 1762), Divided Families Reunification Act (H.R. 1771), and Adoptee Citizenship Act (H.R. 2731).
Rep. Kim has spoken at the KAGC events on multiple occasions since 2017, including the 2017 KAGC National Conference, 2019 KAGC U Leadership Summit, and 2019 KAGC National Conference.
2. Marilyn Strickland (D, WA-10)
Former mayor of Tacoma, Ms. Strickland was elected to represent Washington’s 10th Congressional District which encompasses the state’s capital. She is the first Korean American woman ever to be elected to Congress and the first African American to represent Washington.
Daughter of a veteran of the World War II and Korean war, Marilyn Strickland was born to an African American father and Korean mother in Seoul. Ms. Strickland worked in the private sector as a business administrator before being elected to the Tacoma City Council in 2007. After serving two terms, Ms. Strickland ran for the mayor of the city and served as the 38th Mayor of Tacoma from 2010 to 2017—the first Asian-born elected mayor of the city and the first African American woman to occupy the office.
During her mayorship, Ms. Strickland focused on improving education with an emphasis on workforce training, investing in transportation, and attracting international investment, which led to a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2015 and helped create “over 40,000 new jobs in the Tacoma region.” Her public-private partnership has been recognized by the National League of Cities Women in Municipal Government in 2013 and the Washington Council on International Trade in 2015.
Since 2018, Ms. Strickland has served as the President and CEO of the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce as the first person of color and second woman to helm the 136-year-old organization. In May 2020, Ms. Strickland announced her bid for the 10th congressional district of Washington, a seat vacated by the incumbent Rep. Denny Heck (D, WA-10) who is now running for Lieutenant Governor of Washington instead.
3. Michelle Eunjoo Park Steel (R, CA-48)
An immigrant from Korea, Michelle Steele has served on the Orange County Board of Supervisors since 2014 where she was elected as the Chair in 2017. She is the first Korean American to serve on the Board. Ms. Steele was also appointed as a Co-Chair to the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders by President Trump. She is the first Korean American woman ever to be elected to Congress with Marilyn Strickland and Young Kim.
Ms. Steel also serves on the Orange County Transportation Authority Board of Directors since 2015, in addition to that of the Korean American Republican Association and a number of organizations across California. Prior to her election to the Orange County Board of Supervisors, she was elected to the California State Board of Equalization in 2006, a state agency responsible for tax administrations where she also served as Vice Chair in 2011 before her term expired in 2015.
Throughout her public service, Ms. Steel has advocated for lowering taxes, fought against “sanctuary city” policies, and expressed opposition to same-sex marriage. Ms. Steel graduated from Pepperdine University and earned a MBA from the University of Southern California. Since 1981, she has been married to Shawn Steel, former Chairman of the California Republican Party and current Republican National Committee Committeeman.
4. Young O. Kim (R, CA-39)
As an immigrant from Korea, Ms. Kim graduated from the University of Southern California in 1981 and went on to run a small business before serving as a community liaison and director of Asian affairs in former-Congressman Royce’s office for 21 years. In 2014, she challenged the incumbent Assembly member in her hometown in northern Orange County and became the first Korean American Republican woman to serve in the California State Assembly. She is the first Korean American woman ever to be elected to Congress with Marilyn Strickland and Michelle Steele.
Young Kim, a one-term former California Assemblywoman and a two-time challenger for the Congressional seat in California’s 39th district, is perhaps more widely known as a long-time aide to former Rep. Ed Royce, or from her TV show and radio program on Korean media outlets in Southern California.
A fiscal conservative, Ms. Kim favors reduced regulations, increased trade, and lowering taxes. While she has expressed support for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients, Ms. Kim has opposed sanctuary city policies and same-sex marriage.