Dr. Yung Duk Kim, Honoree

Dr. Yung Duk Kim has served on the KALCA Board since the inception year 2000. He has been a key supporter and champion for KALCA and advised and mentored numerous Board and Advisory members throughout the years.

Prior to becoming a full time community leader, Dr. Kim headed the Hyundai Corporation USA as the CEO and President from 1987 to 1997 and led the Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. as Senior Executive Vice President from 1982 to 1987. Before joining the Hyundai Group, Dr. Kim managed major international projects for engineering consulting firms based in Toronto and New York and designed and supervised construction of port facilities in his role as a Civil Engineering Corp officer in the Republic of Korea Navy.

To improve the quality of life of Asian Americans, Dr. Kim served as Chair of the Asian American Federation of New York and the Korean American Association of Greater New York. He also played a key role in establishing The Korea Society and has helped promote good relations between the U.S. and South Korea as a member of its Board since 1987. To improve U.S. – Korea trade relations and investment conditions, Dr. Kim co-founded the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industries in USA (Kocham) in 1993 and serves as an Advisor.

Currently, Dr. Kim is the Board Chair for Queens College Research Center for Korean Community, and a Board member of Woori Bank of America and the Global Society of Korea and America (GSKA). He is also a strong advocate for the NY/NJ Korean American Voters Council and supports its mission to empower the Asian American communities in the political arena. To elevate the Korean language in the international realm and particularly in the U.S., Dr. Kim serves as the Co-Chair of the Korean Language Association which advocates for and helps create Korean language courses in U.S. public schools as credit based foreign language classes.

Dr. Kim holds a B.S. from Seoul National University and a Ph.D. from the University of Western Ontario, both in civil engineering. He resides in Westport, Connecticut with his lovely wife JJ and they have two grown children, Larry and Eleana.