Mayor Sukhee Kung

Mayor Sukhee Kung was in office from 2008 to 2012.

Born and raised in South Korea, Sukhee and his wife Joanne emigrated to the United States in 1977 following his graduation from the prestigious Korea University with a degree in Food and Resource Economics.

He and his wife then became entrepreneurs, building a successful retail business operating a chain of shoe stores in Orange, Los Angeles, and Riverside counties.

The 1992 LA Riots inspired Sukhee to promote greater civic engagement within the Korean American community. His leadership led Gov. Gray Davis to appoint Sukhee to the California Workforce Investment Board in 2000.

Four years later he won his first election to the Irvine City Council and in 2008 Sukhee made history as the first Korean American mayor of a major American city. Sukhee’s public career included serving as a board member of the Southern California Association of Government (SCAG) and service on numerous regional boards.

Following his service on the city council, Sukhee served as a special advisor to UC Irvine Chancellor Michael Drake and an adjunct professor and Chancellor’s Fellow at Chapman University. He holds an Honorary Doctoral Degree in Business Administration from Dongseo University in Busan, Korea.

Sukhee Kang brings experience in both the public and private sector to his work on behalf of the GSA. He values the opportunity to deliver efficient and effective government services to the American people and believes in forging strong and productive relationships with leaders and stakeholders in the business, education, cultural, and non-profit communities. Sukhee is the author of The Power Of Possibility — My American Journey and was proud to be honored for his community leadership and citizenship by the Carnegie Corporation of New York with their annual “Immigrants: The Pride of America” designation.