My family and I arrived in this country from Korea when I was two years old, because America was the land of opportunity.
For most of my formative years, my parents worked multiple jobs to keep us afloat. Money was tight and things were stressful. And throughout my upbringing, I knew that the whole reason our family was even enduring this was because America, and everything it stood for, was worth it. A country that allowed immigrants to build a life from nothing was a country worth believing in. It was a country worth serving and defending.
That is why I chose to serve this country as a federal prosecutor for seven years, investigating the kind of organized crime and fraud that posed a danger and disruption to our communities. That is why I currently work as a law professor, trying to equip the next generation of leaders not only with skills but also a sense of truth and justice. And that is why I serve as an Air Force officer, helping defend this nation that has provided my family and me a foothold from which to build a life.
But my story—the story of a family coming to America for opportunity, and through hard work and sacrifice, achieving the American dream—is becoming too rare, and is becoming too far from reach for too many.
That is why I’m running for the Assembly. I want to ensure that the American dream becomes an American reality for more of us.
Tune in to politics these days and what you see far too often is people airing grievances, arguing endlessly, and obscuring the facts. And what’s left is a system where inequity is greater than it’s ever been, too many people remain marginalized for too long, and everyday problems go unaddressed.
This cannot continue.
Immigrants should not feel like perpetual outsiders, and hate crimes should not go unnoticed. Housing should not be reserved for the privileged, and schools should be excellent and safe. Truth should not be a debate.
These are issues that can and must be addressed, right now. And I will bring a commitment to service and an appreciation for what America can be—as demonstrated by my own life and career—into the office with me each day. I look forward to getting to work.