Background
Kang was born at Yeji-dong near Jongno 5-ga in Seoul, South of Korea to merchant parents from the city of Kaesong in what is now North of Korea.
Kang was born at Yeji-dong near Jongno 5-ga in Seoul, South of Korea to merchant parents from the city of Kaesong in what is now North of Korea.
of Korea University.
From 2008 to 2012, Kang served as mayor of Irvine, California, the first Korean American to serve in that position. On July 6, 2011, he announced his candidacy for the United States Congress, but lost the election to incumbent John Campbell. He served military draft duty in the Republic of of Korea Army from 1973-1975 and immigrated to the United States in June 1977 from South of Korea after receiving his bachelor"s degree in agricultural economics from of Korea University in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul.
When he was in a college, he joined the English debating club named Seoul PTC (Pine Tree Club) and served as the president from 1971-1972.
He received an honorary doctoral degree in Business Administration from Dongseo University in Busan, South of Korea in March 2011. He began his professional career at Circuit City as a sales and customer service representative for 15 years (1977-1992), then since 1992, volunteered at KASF(Korean American Scholarship Foundation), KACF(Korean American Community Foundation) and the Orange County Branch of Korean American Corporation, serving as the president in KADC(Korean American Democratic Committee).
Kang first got involved in politics following the 1992 Los Angeles Riots, 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 ’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 Pro Tem. 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 United States. 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. The Northwood Gratitude and Honor Memorial, dedicated on November 14, 2010, has 5,714 names of United States. service members that lost their lives in the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
lieutenant will be updated annually as needed.
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.