Jay Kim

For the singer, see Typhoon (entertainer).

Chang-jun "Jay" Kim 김창준
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 41st district
In office January 3, 1993 – January 3, 1999
Preceded by	Bill Lowery
Succeeded by	Gary Miller
Personal details
Born	March 27, 1939 (1939-03-27) Seoul, South Korea
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Current spouse Jennifer Ahn, former spouse June Kim
Alma mater	University of Southern California (B.A., M.S.) Hanyang University (Ph.D.)
Profession	Civil Engineer

Chang-jun "Jay" Kim (Korean: 김창준, Hanja: 金昌準) (born March 27, 1939) is a former politician from California.

Biography

Kim was born in Seoul, South Korea. During the Korean War, his home was destroyed. He immigrated to the United States in 1961, where he graduated from Cal State LA and University of Southern California, earning degrees in civil engineering. Kim was elected to the city council of Diamond Bar, a newly incorporated suburb of Los Angeles, in 1990 and was mayor the next year. He was elected to the House of Representatives in 1992 as a Republican from the newly-created 41st District, making him the first Korean American elected to the United States Congress, as well as the first Korean to be elected to a national political office outside Korea.

Kim came under scrutiny for campaign donations, eventually pleading guilty to accepting $230,000 in illegal donations, including one-third of all donations to his 1992 campaign, and was sentenced to two months of house arrest. At the time, it was a record for campaign violations. He kept his seat but lost the primary election in 1998 to Gary Miller, with whom he had once served on the Diamond Bar city council. Miller won the general election and still holds the seat.

Kim failed in his bid to win election in the 42nd District in 2000 after he was defeated in the primary by Elia Pirozzi, who in turn was defeated by incumbent Joe Baca.

Kim earned both bachelors and masters degrees in civil engineering from the University of Southern California. He later earned a doctorate in political science from HanYang University. In 1976, Kim started JAYKIM Engineers, a firm that specializes in designing highways and water reclamation projects. He built the business into a firm of 130 employees, with offices in three Western states. Kim is an award winning engineer,^{[citation needed]} registered in five Western states, and JAYKIM Engineers was recognized as one of the top 500 design firms in the country.^{[citation needed]} Prior to his election to the U.S. House of Representatives, Kim held public office as a member of the Diamond Bar City Council. Kim was elected mayor of Diamond Bar in 1991.

Kim contributes articles to The Korea Times, is the Chairman of the Washington American Korean Forum, and is the honorary Ambassador of Gyeonggi Province.^{[citation needed]}

See also

• List of California public officials charged with crimes

External links

• Text of the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs report on Jay Kim's improper activities. March 10, 1998.
• House Ethics Committee reports on Jay Kim's improper activities: [1] [2]; and the text of Jay Kim's response to the "statement of alleged violation" [3]. (Retrieved on 2008-12-29)
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Profile of campaign contributions at Opensecrets.org.
• "Kim Pleads Guilty to Illegal Donations", Asian Week, August 1998.
• "Jay Kim Couldn't Hide: Should He Run?", Asian Week, March 1998.
• "Just the Tip of the Iceberg", Mac MacArthur, December 19, 1997.

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by Bill Lowery	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 41st congressional district 1993–1999	Succeeded by Gary Miller