Rep. Kim, Wife Arraigned on Illegal Contribution Charges

After being fingerprinted and photographed, U.S. Rep. Jay C. Kim and his wife, June, were arraigned Monday before a federal magistrate in Los Angeles on charges of knowingly accepting more than $230,000 in illegal campaign contributions.

The Kims, targets of a four-year FBI investigation, were then freed on $5,000 bonds and ordered to return in one week to enter their pleas before U.S. District Judge Richard A. Paez.

In a deal with prosecutors announced last week, the Diamond Bar Republican and his wife agreed to plead guilty to misdemeanor violations of federal election law barring donations from corporations or nonresident foreigners.

Kim will also enter felony guilty pleas on behalf of the Jay Kim for Congress Committee, but under the plea agreement he will not be held personally responsible for those crimes.

At the request of the federal probation office, Magistrate Rosalyn N. Chapman ordered the couple to give 48 hours notice and provide an itinerary before traveling outside the United States.

The Kims, who had slipped into the downtown federal courthouse without being noticed, had to wedge their way through a throng of reporters afterward. They declined to answer questions about the case.

The first Korean American elected to Congress, Kim is serving his third term, representing a solidly Republican district that covers parts of Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino counties.

Despite his impending guilty plea, he has indicated that he intends to serve out his term, which expires in 1999.

The FBI probe was launched in 1993 after a series in The Times disclosed that Kim had used hundreds of thousands of dollars from his corporation, JayKim Engineers Inc., to finance his first bid for Congress.

In the far-reaching investigation that followed, the American affiliates of five South Korean conglomerates pleaded guilty to laundering illegal contributions into Kim’s campaign. They paid fines totaling $1.6 million.

Earlier this year, Kim’s former campaign treasurer, Seokuk Ma, was convicted on felony charges of concealing illicit contributions in campaign reports to the Federal Election Commission. He is to be sentenced in September.

Through it all, Kim denied knowing of any illicit contributions to his campaign. But in a statement of facts attached to their plea agreements, the congressman and his wife, who helped manage his campaigns, admitted knowing about or concealing 18 illicit campaign donations, including some from foreign sources.

Under their plea agreement, the Kims face a maximum fine of $635,000. Prosecutors have also agreed to recommend a jail term of up to six months, but the judge is not bound by terms of the agreement.

After the Kims enter their pleas before Paez next week, the federal probation office will conduct a review of the case and make a sentencing recommendation. That process could take a few months.