Sukhee Kang (; born 15 September 1952) is an American Democratic Party

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

from

Orange County, California Orange County (officially the County of Orange; often initialized O.C.) is a county (United States), county located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population ...

. From 2008 to 2012, Kang served as

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Irvine, California Irvine () is a Planned community, planned city in central Orange County, California, United States, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. It was named in 1888 for the landowner James Irvine. The Irvine Company started developing the area in the ...

, the first

Korean American Korean Americans () are Americans of full or partial Korean ethnic descent. While the broader term Overseas Korean in America () may refer to all ethnic Koreans residing in the United States, the specific designation of Korean American impli ...

to serve as mayor of a major American city. Born and educated in South Korea, Kang immigrated to Southern California and became involved in civic life following the

1992 Los Angeles riots The 1992 Los Angeles riots were a series of riots and civil disturbances that occurred in Los Angeles County, California, United States, during April and May 1992. Unrest began in South Los Angeles, South Central Los Angeles on April 29, after ...

. Kang was elected to the Irvine City Council twice, serving from 2004 to 2008. Kang was elected twice to Mayor of Irvine, serving from 2008 to 2012. In 2012 Kang was an unsuccessful candidate for the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

, and in 2016 he was an unsuccessful candidate for the

California State Senate The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature (the lower house being the California State Assembly). The state senate convenes, along with the state assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. ...

. In 2023 he was appointed Regional Administrator for the

General Services Administration The General Services Administration (GSA) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the United States government established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. G ...

Early life and education

Kang was born at Yeji-dong near

Jongno Jongno or Jong-ro () is a trunk road and one of the oldest major east–west thoroughfares in Seoul, South Korea. Jongno connects Gwanghwamun Plaza to Dongdaemun. The area surrounding Jongno is a part of Downtown Seoul and one of the most ...

5-ga in

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

, South Korea, to merchant parents from the city of

Kaesong Kaesong (, ; ) is a special city in the southern part of North Korea (formerly in North Hwanghae Province), and the capital of Korea during the Taebong kingdom and subsequent Goryeo dynasty. The city is near the Kaesong Industrial Region cl ...

, in what is now North Korea. He served

military draft Conscription, also known as the draft in the United States and Israel, is the practice in which the compulsory enlistment in a national service, mainly a military service, is enforced by law. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it contin ...

duty in the

Republic of Korea Army The Republic of Korea Army (ROKA; ), also known as the ROK Army or South Korean Army, is the army of South Korea, responsible for ground-based warfare. It is the largest of the military branches of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces with 365,0 ...

from 1973-75 and immigrated to the United States in June 1977 from South Korea after receiving his bachelor's degree in agricultural economics from

Korea University Korea University (KU, ) is a Private university, private research university in Seoul, South Korea. Established in 1905 by Yi Yong-ik, Lee Yong-Ik, a prominent official of the Korean Empire, Korea University is among South Korea's oldest List of ...

Seongbuk District Seongbuk District () is one of the 25 districts of Seoul, South Korea. The district is located in the mid-north part of the city. The current mayor is Lee Seung-ro, who has been mayor since July 2018. Seongbuk District was established under Pres ...

. When he was in a college, he joined the English debating club named Seoul PTC (Pine Tree Club) and served as the president from 1971-72. He received an honorary doctoral degree in Business Administration from

Dongseo University Dongseo University (DSU; ) is a private university in Busan, South Korea. In 2013, DSU was ranked by Quacquarelli Symonds with The Chosun Ilbo among the Top 50 Asian universities for internationalization. History The Dongseo Educational F ...

Busan Busan (), officially Busan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's second list of cities in South Korea by population, most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.3 million as of 2024. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economi ...

, South Korea in March 2011.

Career

Early career and activism

Kang began his professional career at

Circuit City Circuit City Corporation, Inc., formerly Circuit City Stores, Inc., is an American consumer electronics retail company, which was founded in 1949 by Samuel Wurtzel as the Wards Company, operated stores across the United States, and pioneered th ...

as a sales and customer service representative; he worked with Circuit City for 15 years, from 1977 until 1992. Since 1992, Kang volunteered at the Korean American Scholarship Foundation (KASF), the Korean American Community Fund (KACF), the Orange County Branch of Korean American Corporation, and served as the president of the Korean American Democratic Committee (KADC).

Entrance into politics

Kang first got involved in politics following the

, during which more than 750 Korean businesses suffered extensive losses. Following the riots, Kang took on a more active role in civic and community affairs, and served as Chairman of the Korean American Coalition of Orange County and the Korean American Scholarship Foundation, Western Region. Prior to his service on the Irvine City Council, Kang was a Governor's appointee on the California Workforce Investment Board and was the Mayor's appointee to the Irvine Finance Commission. In November 2004, he was elected Irvine City Councilmember, and was re-elected in November 2006. He served twice as the Mayor Pro Tem. Kang served as a member of the Orange County Great Park Board, Orange County Sanitation District Board, Transportation Corridor Agency Board, Executive Steering Committee of the

League of California Cities The League of California Cities is an association of cities within the state of California, founded in 1898. Most of the state's 482 cities are represented in the league. The League publishes ''Western City'', a monthly magazine, and holds an annu ...

Orange County Division, and Orange County Transportation Authority Measure M Super Committee.

Mayor of Irvine

In November 2008 Sukhee Kang defeated Christina L. Shea, a Republican councilwoman, with 52.2% of the vote, to become the first Korean American to serve as mayor of a major U.S. city. Kang was elected to a second term in November 2010 after defeating Christopher Gonzales, a Republican Party candidate, with 63.21% of the vote. As mayor, Kang backed a $120 million deal with the Orange County Transportation Authority to lay the groundwork for a citywide public transit system. Kang endorsed the

Northwood Gratitude and Honor Memorial The Northwood Gratitude and Honor Memorial is a memorial in Irvine, California, to United States, American troops who died in the wars in Iraq War, Iraq and War in Afghanistan (2001–present), Afghanistan. The names on the memorial come from US ...

and worked to achieve the unanimous Irvine City Council vote for its approval in December, 2009. The Northwood Gratitude and Honor Memorial, dedicated on 14 November 2010, has 5,714 names of U.S. service members that lost their lives in

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

and

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

. It will be updated annually as needed.

Post mayoralty

In 2012, Kang ran for

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

in the 45th House District. Kang advanced from the primary election, but lost to incumbent John Campbell in the general election. In 2016, Kang ran for the

in the 29th district, but lost in the

jungle primary A nonpartisan primary, top-two primary, or jungle primary is a primary election in which all candidates for the same elected office run against each other at once, regardless of political party. This distinguishes them from partisan primaries, w ...

. In January 2023,

President Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice president from 2009 to 2017 and re ...

appointed Kang Regional Administrator for the

. Kang's region includes: Arizona, California, Nevada, Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, American Samoa, East Asia, and Guam.

Personal life

Sukhee Kang is married to his wife Joanne Kang (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Choi) in 1977. Sukhee was honored by the Father's Day Council of Orange County as Father of the year in 2012.http://main.diabetes.org/site/PageServer?pagename=FOTY_OrangeCounty_Sukhee

Electoral history

References

External links

Kang's bio on the GSA's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kang, Sukhee 1952 births Living people American mayors of Korean descent California politicians of Korean descent People from Jongno District Politicians from Seoul Mayors of Irvine, California South Korean emigrants to the United States Korea University alumni Democratic Party mayors in California 21st-century mayors of places in California