Jay Kim

Jay Chang Joon Kim (born March 27, 1939) is a Korean-American politician and former member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California.

He was the first Korean American to be elected to the United States Congress.

Jay Kim was born in 1939 in Keijō, Keiki-dō, Korea, Empire of Japan (now Seoul, South Korea).

His Korean name, Kim Chang Joon, roughly translates to "golden splendid law."

During the Korean War, his home was destroyed.

He immigrated to the United States in 1961.

After attending a community college, Kim transferred to the University of Southern California, where he earned bachelor's and master's degrees in civil engineering.

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 engineer, registered in five western states.

JAYKIM Engineers was recognized as one of the top 500 design firms in the country.

Kim was elected to the city council of Diamond Bar, a newly incorporated suburb of Los Angeles, in 1990 and was elected mayor the following year.

Kim 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.

Kim came under scrutiny for campaign donations, eventually pleading guilty to accepting $230,000 in illegal donations, which amounted to one-third of all donations to his 1992 campaign.

At the time, it was a record for campaign violations.

In 1998, he lost the primary election to Gary Miller, with whom he had once served on the Diamond Bar City Council.

Kim sought to win election in the 42nd District in 2000.

He was defeated in the primary by Elia Pirozzi, who in turn was defeated by incumbent Joe Baca.

In recent years, Kim has focused on improving relations and business opportunities between the U.S. and South Korea.

He has served as chairman of The Washington Korean-American Forum think tank since 2007.

As chairman of Kim Changjoon US-Korea Foundation, he uses his political and professional experience to help develop political leadership in South Korea.

The Kim Changjoon Politics and Economy Academy in Korea educates and encourages small business owners to go abroad by providing global market skills and professional knowledge.

Miller also won the general election and held the seat until he was elected to the 31st Congressional District in 2012.

With the election of President Park Geun-hye in 2013, Kim was appointed to the National Economic Advisory Council to help small business seek opportunities in the global market.

Kim has stated that his "position in both the United States and Korea allows me to encourage economic development between our nations, and the new free-trade agreement lets companies… flourish in new markets."

However, Park was also convicted on public corruption and influence peddling charges, and on 6 April 2018, Park was sentenced to 24 years in prison in South Korea.

Kim also regularly contributes articles to The Korea Times, JoongAng Ilbo, and The Korea Economic Daily, and is the honorary Ambassador of Gyeonggi Province.

2021 PyeongChang Peace Forum

The "2021 PyeongChang Peace Forum" took from February 7 to the 10th at the Alpensia Convention Center in Pyeongchang, Gangwon Province.

On the morning of February 6, one day ahead of the Peace Forum's opening ceremony, it had the first Korea-U.S. Leaders Peace Strategy Dialogue session.

This 1st Korea-U.S. Leaders Peace Dialogue was organized by the Jay Kim Foundation with Gangwon-do, and it was chaired by Professor Kim Woo-sang of Yonsei University.

Members of the National Assembly, including Ahn Min-Suk, Lee Sang-min, Hong Young-pyo from the Majority Party, and Lee Myung-Soo from the People Power Party, participated as a panel.

From the U.S. side, the former U.S. Congressman Jay Kim attended the event, and former U.S. Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez and former Congressman Bart Gordon from the Democratic Party attended virtually.

Korean-American Republican Congresswoman Young Kim and Congressman Ami Bera, a Member of the East Asia Pacific subcommittee of the Foreign Affairs Committee, were unable to attend the forum virtually due to a busy schedule, so instead they sent a video clip of congratulatory remarks hoping for the success of the 1st Peace Forum.

A total of six members of the Korea National Assembly and the United States Congress attended the forum to discuss the current status and importance of the South Korea-U.S. alliance, as well as the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the importance of the peace exchange with North Korea through sports.

Each of them gave five-minute presentations on the topic and discussed various solutions and methods in-depth.

This event, which will be held every year as part of the PyeongChang Peace Forum, will be expected to contribute to the South Korea-U.S. alliance and a successful Korean Peninsula peace process.

Interview with Gangwon Ilbo on February 7

On the 6th of February, right before the 2021 PyeongChang Peace Forum was held, both former and current Party Members from Korea and the United States gathered at the Alpensia in Pyeongchang, Gangwon Province to discuss peace strategies for the Korean Peninsula.