Stepping Down

Top civil rights attorney Wan J. Kim resigns amid a heavy cloud of criticism

 

On Sept. 22, the Atlanta-based Foundation for the Improvement of Justice presented renowned journalist K.W. Lee with the 2007 Chapman Award.

The annual award is given to individuals or groups whose innovative and effective efforts encourage improvement in the justice system. Lee was honored for his five-year, 120-article series of investigative reports on the case of Chol Soo Lee, a Korean immigrant wrongfully convicted of a 1973 San Francisco Chinatown gangland murder. Lee’s exhaustive efforts were instrumental in Chol Soo winning a new trial in 1982, which led to his acquittal and release from San Quentin’s Death Row.

“I hope this national award will help bring attention to the many Chol Soo Lees still languishing in juvenile halls in prisons because of ignorance and indifference within the criminal justice system,” said Lee, 79, about the recognition.

Although he claims he is “semi-retired,” Lee continues to lecture on investigative journalism and works as a freelance writer.

— Brian Shin

 

After months of rumor and speculation, Assistant Attorney General Wan J. Kim officially resigned his post as head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.

His August resignation came at a time of political turmoil within the Justice department, which saw almost a dozen other officials and aides resign, culminating with the very public departure of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales in September.

Kim’s two-year tenure was marked by controversy. An opinion piece in the Indianapolis Star reads, “Wan Kim’s tenure was distinguished more by constricting civil rights than expanding them. He was the enforcer of voter IDs, that notorious GOP device for discouraging inner-city voter turnout.”

Kim, the first Korean American and first immigrant to hold that position, is expected to enter a private practice.

— Chris Paek