Young Kim

After graduating from USC, Kim worked as a financial analyst for First Interstate Bank and then as a controller for JK Sportswear Manufacturing.[2] Kim also started her own business in the clothing industry.[5]

Kim worked for state senator Ed Royce[4] after her husband met Royce while promoting a nonprofit organization, the Korean American Coalition.[2] After Royce was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, Kim worked for a total of 21 years as the congressman's community liaison and director of Asian affairs.[5] During much of that time she also appeared regularly on her own television show, "LA Seoul with Young Kim", and her radio show, "Radio Seoul", on which she discussed political issues affecting Korean Americans.[2]

Kim was elected to the Assembly in 2014, defeating Democratic Assemblymember Sharon Quirk-Silva. In 2016, in turn, Quirk-Silva defeated Kim.[7]

In 2017, Kim announced she would be running for the Orange County Board of Supervisors, a nonpartisan office, in the 4th district, which includes the cities of Fullerton, Placentia, La Habra, and Brea, plus portions of Anaheim and Buena Park.[8] However, in January 2018, immediately after Royce announced his retirement, Kim publicly declared that she would instead enter the race to succeed Royce as the representative for California's 39th congressional district.[9] Royce endorsed Kim the day after announcing his retirement.[5] Kim received the most votes in the primary election among a crowded field of 17 candidates, allowing her to advance to the general election along with the Democratic candidate Gil Cisneros.

Polls showed a tight race throughout the campaign, and FiveThirtyEight called the race a toss-up.[10] Early results on the night of the election showed Kim holding a 52.5%-47.5% lead,[11][12] but Kim ultimately lost the election to Cisneros, who received 51.6% of the vote to Kim's 48.4% after mail-in ballots were counted.[13] She conceded on November 18.[14]

Young Kim campaigning in 2019

In April 2019, Kim announced her candidacy to run again for the 39th district seat. Immediately after her announcement, top party officials rallied behind Kim, including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.[15] In March 2020, Kim received 48.3% of the vote compared to Cisneros' 46.9%, and thus, both advanced out of the top-two primary for an official rematch.

Kim proved to be one of the top House fund-raising challengers across the nation, outraising Cisneros $6.16 million to $4.36 million.[16][17] However, unlike the previous cycle, most election observers rated the race as "Lean Democrat", with FiveThirtyEight predicting Kim had a 26 out of a 100 chance of winning.[18] The election had notable A.A.P.I. community outreach through East-Asian-language T.V. advertisements. The DCCC released advertisements in Mandarin, Cantonese, and Korean, while Kim released an advertisement in Korean.[19][20]

At the end of election night, Kim had a small lead over a thousand votes. As mail-in ballots were counted, Kim's lead continued to grow, a reversal from the trend that heavily favored Democrats in the previous election. The Associated Press projected Cisneros's defeat on November 13. She, along with Michelle Steel and Marilyn Strickland, is the first Korean-American Congresswomen.[21]

On January 6, 2021, Kim voted to certify Joe Biden's Electoral College victory, declining to support Republican-led efforts to contest the election results.[22]

On January 13, 2021, Kim voted against the second impeachment of Donald Trump.[23] She said she supported censuring Trump but not impeaching him.[24]

On February 4, 2021, Kim joined 10 other Republican House members voting with all voting Democrats to strip Marjorie Taylor Greene of her House Education and Labor Committee, and House Budget Committee assignments in response to controversial political statements she had made.[25]

• Committee on Foreign Affairs
• Committee on Small Business
• Committee on Science, Space and Technology[26]

• Problem Solvers Caucus[27]

In 2014, Kim opposed a California law "requiring schools to allow transgender students to use bathrooms of their choice and participate in sports by their gender identity rather than their anatomical gender." During an Orange County Register interview, Kim said she opposed the law over concerns that new school facilities could need to be constructed, additional spending could be required, students could change their identity "on a whim", and that male-to-female transgender students would have an unfair advantage in sports. She has said transgender individuals "deserve to be respected" but that she does not believe that LGBT individuals were born with their identities or orientations.[37]

Kim opposed same-sex marriage in 2014,[38] but by 2015, she, along with 61 other state assembly members, coauthored a resolution in the Assembly that established June as Pride Month and recognized same-sex marriage.[39] When questioned about this, Kim responded it was to “recognize individuals that are making contributions to our community [including] the LGBTQ community." In 2016, Kim supported an assembly bill that required single-use restrooms to be gender-neutral.[40]