Rep. Young Kim (63, pictured) has long played a pivotal role in the Korean American community and in strengthening US-Korea relations.
As a prominent voice for Korean political power in the federal legislature, she currently serves as the chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Indo-Pacific, handling US-Korea alliances, North Korea, and Indo-Pacific issues. Having entered Congress in 2020 as one of the first Korean American women elected to federal office, she is now bidding for her fourth term. If reelected, she will set the record for the most-tenured Korean American U.S. Representative.
Her political career was not built on a single electoral victory. A 1.5-generation immigrant, she graduated from USC and worked in business before entering politics. Her journey began in the early 1990s as a staffer for California State Senator Ed Royce. Even after Royce advanced to the U.S. House, she managed community and Asian American outreach for over two decades. It was during this period that she built her expertise in US-Korea relations and Asian diplomacy.
Her political path is defined by resilience. After winning election to the California State Assembly in 2014, she failed to secure reelection in 2016. In her initial 2018 bid for the U.S. House, she lost to Democrat Gil Cisneros by a razor-thin 1.2 percentage points. However, she won the rematch two years later to enter Washington. She subsequently secured victories in 2022 and 2024, serving as a third-term lawmaker. Her perseverance after two setbacks remains a defining trait of her political career.
Since entering Congress, she has consistently championed issues close to the Korean American community, including Korean divided families, the US-Korea alliance, and North Korean human rights and security. Her leadership of the Indo-Pacific subcommittee further demonstrates her deep legislative track record in Korean Peninsula and Indo-Pacific policy.
In economic policy, she has maintained traditional Republican stances favoring tax relief, deregulation, and support for small businesses.
She has also demonstrated flexibility by collaborating with Democratic lawmakers during the legislative process. Her record of bipartisan cooperation in partisan Washington underscores her pragmatic approach to governance.
For instance, she has actively pursued joint legislation with Democrats, such as the PACE Act to lower consumer bank fees and wildfire prevention initiatives. In recognition of these efforts, Georgetown University’s McCourt School and the Lugar Center ranked her 16th overall among 118th Congress House members for bipartisanship.
Another key strength is her foreign policy expertise. With sensitive diplomatic dynamics surrounding China and North Korea, her wealth of experience is more vital than ever.
This publication endorses her resilient political journey for this election cycle. She is a politician equipped with proven leadership, diplomatic vision, and genuine dedication to the Korean American community. Having built extensive field experience and perseverance over many years, she has consistently represented the voice of Korean Americans in federal government and deserves the voters’ trust.
This campaign presents a distinct test compared to previous races due to California’s Democratic-led redistricting, which pits her against fellow Republican incumbent Rep. Ken Calvert.
