Kim Pleads Guilty to Illegal Donations

U.S. Rep. Jay Kim, his wife, and campaign committee agreed to plead guilty to charges that they accepted or concealed more than $230,000 in illegal campaign contributions.

Foreign contributions were focus of four-year investigation

BY BERT ELJERA

Just as a Senate panel concluded its first month of investigation into alleged campaign-contribution abuses in the 1996 election, a Republican representative from Orange County and his wife have agreed to plead guilty to charges of concealing contributions from corporate and foreign donors.

Rep. Jay Kim and his wife, June, will be allowed to plead guilty to misdemeanor election-law violations in a federal court in Los Angeles next week in a deal with prosecutors that ends a four-year investigation.

Kim, the first Korean American elected to the U.S. Congress, admitted to accepting $50,000 from Song Nien Yeh, a Taiwanese national, in May 1992 and laundering the money through his personal bank account into his 1992 campaign.

He also acknowledged accepting $12,000 in corporate contributions from Nikko Enterprise Inc., a New York-based company. The donation was also laundered through Kim's personal account.

A third misdemeanor charge involved Kim's funneling of more than $83,000 from his engineering company, JayKim Engineers Inc., into his '92 campaign.

June Kim agreed to plead guilty to two misdemeanor charges of accepting more than $19,000 in illegal contributions.

The Kims face fines of up to $635,000, according to the plea agreement with prosecutors. They could also be jailed for up to six months.

With the misdemeanor plea bargain, however, the Kims avoided a felony conviction, which could have caused Kim to lose his seat in Congress.

"While I am relieved that this four-year-long nightmare is now over, this has been a most distressing experience," Kim said in a brief statement issued by his office. "With many lessons learned, it is time to move forward."

Five felony counts were also filed against the Jay Kim for Congress Committee for concealing more than $200,000 in illegal contributions in reports filed with the Federal Election Commission between 1992 and 1997.

Kim was allowed to plead guilty to these charges on behalf of the committee, but will not be held responsible for the complaint.

His guilty plea was received with shock in the Korean American community, particularly in light of the foreign-contributions scandal that is now the object of inquiry by the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee.

"It is unfortunate that the only elected leader that the Korean American community has at the national level was involved in unlawful campaign activities," said Martha Choe, a member of the Seattle City Council. "But the Korean American community does not condone illegal activities by anyone, including by those who happen to be from the same ethnic background as we [are]."

Mark Keam, the Washington, D.C., representative of the Los Angeles-based Korean American Coalition, said the case might heighten the anti-foreigner, anti-Asian hysteria brought on by the current campaign-contributions scandal.

"The so-called 'Asian connection' to the campaign-fundraising controversy has already generated plenty of offensive, racially derogatory comments," Keam said. "We urge the [mainstream] press ... to avoid the temptation of stereotyping or impugning the entire Korean American community."

He said it would be unfortunate if the Kim case has the effect of chilling the activist spirit of Korean Americans and dampening their enthusiasm for the political process.

"[We must] continue to take active roles in our democracy and fulfill our civic duties," Keam said.

Kim is a board member of the Congressional Asian Pa- cific American Caucus Institute (CAPACI), a nonpartisan educational group based in Washington that monitors issues of interest to the APA community, including the current Senate hearings on illegal campaign contributions.

Francey Lim Youngberg, CAPACI executive director, said the incident is unfortunate, but one she hopes would not discourage Asian Pacific Americans, particularly Korean Americans, form participating in the electoral process.

"This comes at a particularly difficult time," Youngberg said, referring to the campaign-contribution scandal that has placed Asian Americans in public scrutiny. "This is a year for learning a lot of lessons for the APA community--with the allegations of illegal campaign contributions and all. We have a lot of lessons to learn and as we get more active in politics, we should take note of our mistakes and learn from them."

John Lim, a state senator in Oregon who is running for a seat in the U.S. Senate, echoed those sentiments, and said the Korean American community, particularly, is young compared with other APA groups and has to experience some "growing pains."

"The important thing is that we actively participate in the political process by going to the voting polls, supporting candidates, and running for office," Lim said.

Until the investigation of illegal contributions against him, his wife, and his campaign committee four years ago, Kim was a rising star in the Republican Party. He was a featured speaker at the GOP's 1988 national convention in Houston, and is one of the most trusted lieutenants of House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

In fact, Gingrich was expected to attend a Kim fundraiser scheduled for Aug. 18 at the Richard Nixon Library and Birthplace in Yorba Linda, Calif. But the event has been postponed "until this thing simmers down," according to his chief of staff, Matt Reynolds.

Kim's was also the classic immigrant's story. He had arrived in the United States as a poor student in 1961 after fleeing his home from invading North Korean soldiers. He earned a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from the University of Southern California in 1967 as well as a master's degree in environmental engineering from Cal State Los Angeles.

In 1976, he formed JayKim Engineers Inc., which specialized in large public-works projects, including an $8.7-million contract for Los Angeles' Metro Rail.

In 1990, Kim won a seat at the Diamond Bar City Council. He went on to serve as that city's mayor in 1991-92. When a new congressional district was created in '92, he beat five other rivals for the Republican nomination. The primary victory virtually assured him of the congressional seat because the district--which includes Yorba Linda, Placentia, Brea, and portions of Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties--is solidly Republican.

In Congress, he has been hailed as a staunch supporter of conservative causes and has voted consistently against abortion and gun control, and for cuts in taxes and a scaled-down federal government.

Kim has received 100-percent approval ratings from such groups as the Christian Coalition, the American Conservative Union, and the National Rifle Association. He has vowed to continue this voting record in Congress. Kim has promised to complete pet projects in his district, including renovation of the Ontario Airport, highway improvements, and a new post office in Chino Hills, Calif.

The three-term representative was the toast of the Korean American community when he was elected for the first time in 1992. He has since become an effective voice in urging more political participation by Asian Pacific Americans.

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