Seung Min Kim (born August 4, 1985) is an American journalist who is a White House correspondent for the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

and a political analyst for

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

Early life and education

Kim was born to a

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, people from the Korean peninsula or of Korean descent * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Korean **Korean dialects **See also: North–South differences in t ...

family and grew up in

Iowa City, Iowa Iowa City is the largest city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. At the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the population was 74,828, making it the state's List of cities in Iowa, fifth-most populous c ...

. She states that she had wanted to be a journalist since the age of 12, and in her first year at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

in 2004, she joined the student newspaper ''

The Daily Iowan ''The Daily Iowan'' is an independent, 6,500-circulation student newspaper serving Iowa City and the University of Iowa community. During the 2020–2021 academic year ''The Daily Iowan'' transitioned from printing daily to producing a print ...

''. She graduated from the University of Iowa with a BS in journalism and political science in 2007, before earning an MA in journalism from

American University The American University (AU or American) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Its main campus spans 90-acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, in the Spri ...

. She married Jeff Lee in 2016. The couple live in

Arlington, Virginia Arlington County, or simply Arlington, is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Virginia. The county is located in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from Washington, D.C., the nati ...

Career

Kim started her career while still a student at the University of Iowa, working as a reporter at a number of newspapers including ''

The Des Moines Register ''The Des Moines Register'' is the daily morning newspaper of Des Moines, Iowa, United States. History Early period The first newspaper in Des Moines was the ''Iowa Star''. In July 1849, Barlow Granger began the paper in an abandoned log cab ...

'', the ''

St Petersburg Times The ''Tampa Bay Times'', called the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It is published by the Times Publishing Company, which is owned by The Poynter Institute for ...

'' and ''

The Star-Ledger ''The Star-Ledger'' was the largest circulation newspaper in New Jersey. It is based in Newark, New Jersey. The newspaper ceased print publication on February 2, 2025, but continues to publish a digital edition. In 2007, ''The Star-Ledger''s ...

''. One of her earliest experiences was covering the Iowa presidential caucus in 2004 as a college freshman. Kim joined ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

'' as a reporter in Washington, D.C., in 2008, before moving to become a reporter covering the Senate and immigration policy for ''

Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American political digital newspaper company founded by American banker and media executive Robert Allbritton in 2007. It covers politics and policy in the Unit ...

'' in 2009. She became a White House correspondent writing about the

Trump administration Presidency of Donald Trump may refer to: * First presidency of Donald Trump, the United States presidential administration from 2017 to 2021 * Second presidency of Donald Trump, the United States presidential administration since 2025 See also * ...

for ''The Washington Post'' in 2018. During this time, she led coverage on major topics such as the

Brett Kavanaugh Supreme Court nomination On July 9, 2018, President of the United States, President Donald Trump nominated Brett Kavanaugh for Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States to succeed retiring ...

, and Donald Trump's impeachment trial. In 2022, Kim joined the Associated Press. In early 2021, Kim became the target of online abuse after a photo of her interviewing Senator

Lisa Murkowski Lisa Ann Murkowski ( ; born May 22, 1957) is an American attorney and politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States senator from the state of Alaska, having held the seat since 2002. She is the first woman ...

(R-Alaska) was circulated on social media. The Washington Post later issued a statement denouncing the "racists and sexist attacks". Kim's experience mirrors other female journalists who face criticism that extends beyond their professional capabilities into their personal lives. This trend has been exacerbated by social media, and media organizations have struggled with how to deal with online abuse which disproportionately targets women. Her experience was cited as an example when

The Society of Professional Journalists The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), formerly known as Sigma Delta Chi, is the oldest organization representing journalists in the United States. It was established on April 17, 1909, at DePauw University,2009 SPJ Annual Report, letter ...

(SPJ) issued a message at the end of

Women's History Month Women's History Month is an annual observance to highlight the contributions of women to events in history and contemporary society. Celebrated during March in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, corresponding with Internationa ...

in March 2021 calling on newsrooms to stand up for minority journalists who endure harassment and abuse. Kim has appeared on CNN and ''PBS Washington Week'' as a political analyst. She is also a member of the

Asian American Journalists Association The Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit educational and professional organization based in Washington, D.C., with more than 1,500 members and 21 chapters across the United States and Asia. The current president is ...

, which honored her in 2020.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kim, Seung Min 1985 births Living people University of Iowa alumni American University alumni People from Iowa City, Iowa Journalists from Iowa 21st-century American women journalists 21st-century American journalists American writers of Korean descent American political journalists Politico people The Washington Post journalists USA Today journalists CNN people