History was made during the 2018 U.S. midterm elections,... as Young Kim was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, becoming the first Korean-American woman to win a coveted spot in Congress.
Lee Seung-jae reports.
A historic day at the 2018 U.S. midterm elections,... as California's 39th congressional district election saw Republican Young Kim beating Democrat Gil Cineros,... garnering 51-point-3-percent of the votes.
Kim, becomes the first Korean-American woman to be elected into Congress,... and the first Korean-American in 20 years to be elected.
It was an emotional victory for the self-made woman who won the tight race.

"All the millions of dollars that came at me, this is one election we can prove, that we cannot buy ourselves into a seat."

Ed Royce, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee announced his retirement from California's 39th district seat in January,... and had endorsed Kim since then.

"I want to share with you, that over that span of time, in my opinion, all the people that I met in public service, noone has work as hard as Young Kim.

Young Kim worked for Royce for two decades, first when he was a state senator and then in Congress.

Kim let the Korean community in her district know, she will take care of them, even though it may take time.

"There may be times when I cannot work for the Korean community because I have to succeed in mainstream society, so I can give back to the Korean community later."

She will now represent a district which includes parts of Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino counties, which is two-thirds Asian and Latino.
Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News.