Rep. Young Kim faces scrutiny over undisclosed spouse income and travel reimbursements

Orange County records indicate Charles Joo Kim earned as much as $100,000 in 2017 as the U.S. coordinator for the South Korean nonprofit Dam Jae Friends of Korean War Veterans, but Rep. Young Kim has not reported any spousal income since her 2018 congressional run. The nonprofit describes the payments as reimbursements for volunteer expenses, and its chairman asserts Kim was never an employee. In addition, an ethics complaint filed by End Citizens United alleges Kim failed to disclose five privately funded trips between 2022 and 2024, totaling roughly $44,000, with her husband accompanying her on trips to Israel and South Korea.

Kim’s spokesperson says the trips were authorized and the undisclosed amounts were an oversight now corrected. The revelations surface amid a GOP primary showdown between Kim and Rep. Ken Calvert in California’s newly redrawn 40th District, where both candidates face scrutiny over past financial disclosures. Calvert, like Kim, has been accused of incomplete reporting, including an undisclosed 2016 commercial property near a federally earmarked project. Both campaigns are emphasizing the selective focus on each other's records as the race intensifies.