1. Sukhee Kang is an American Democratic Party politician from Orange County, California.
17 Facts About Sukhee Kang
1. 2.
From 2008 to 2012, Kang served as Mayor of Irvine, California, the first Korean American to serve as mayor of a major American city.
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Sukhee Kang was elected to the Irvine City Council twice, serving from 2004 to 2008.
4.
Sukhee Kang was elected twice to Mayor of Irvine, serving from 2008 to 2012.
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In 2012 Sukhee Kang was an unsuccessful candidate for the United States House of Representatives, and in 2016 he was an unsuccessful candidate for the California State Senate.
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Sukhee Kang was born at Yeji-dong near Jongno 5-ga in Seoul, South Korea, to merchant parents from the city of Kaesong, in what is North Korea.
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Sukhee Kang received an honorary doctoral degree in Business Administration from Dongseo University in Busan, South Korea in March 2011.
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Sukhee Kang began his professional career at Circuit City as a sales and customer service representative; he worked with Circuit City for 15 years, from 1977 until 1992.
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Since 1992, Sukhee Kang volunteered at the Korean American Scholarship Foundation, the Korean American Community Fund, the Orange County Branch of Korean American Corporation, and served as the president of the Korean American Democratic Committee.
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Sukhee Kang first got involved in politics following the 1992 Los Angeles riots, during which more than 750 Korean businesses suffered extensive losses.
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Sukhee 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 Orange County Division, and Orange County Transportation Authority Measure M Super Committee.
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Sukhee Kang endorsed the Northwood Gratitude and Honor Memorial and worked to achieve the unanimous Irvine City Council vote for its approval in December, 2009.
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In 2012, Sukhee Kang ran for United States Congress in the 45th House District.
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In 2016, Sukhee Kang ran for the California State Senate in the 29th district, but lost in the jungle primary.
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Sukhee Kang's region includes: Arizona, California, Nevada, Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, American Samoa, East Asia, and Guam.
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Sukhee Kang is married to his wife Joanne Kang in 1977.
17.
Sukhee Kang was honored by the Father's Day Council of Orange County as Father of the year in 2012.