Coquitlam's Steve Kim Confirmed as 3rd Place Winner with Over 15,000 Votes Kyung-Jun Park, Ria Park, Hye-Rin Lee, and Susan Kim suffer disappointing defeats……
![[Roundup] BC Local Elections Results for Korean Candidates… Steve Kim Achieves ‘Third Term’ · Paul Kwon Enters Board of Education](https://pub-7c30bf53af234e8292c8a3d8df0166de.r2.dev/articles/cms8gxgs9000004lcu0o8rm6v/1792343978108-69ac6327-889d-414a-a7b9-4d9d0eeef898.webp)
Kyung-Jun Park, Ria Park, Hye-Rin Lee, and Susan Kim suffer disappointing defeats… Expanding horizons for Korean American political participation
As the 2026 British Columbia (BC) provincial elections conclude, the final vote counts for each municipality have emerged. While Korean candidates who ran in this election faced mixed results—ranging from victory to narrow defeat—after a fierce battle, they demonstrated significant vote-getting power across major cities, reaffirming the political standing of the Korean community.
■ Coquitlam: Steve Kim Becomes 'Three-Term City Council Member' with Overwhelming Support
In the City of Coquitlam, a major Korean-populated area in Metro Vancouver, incumbent city councilor Steve Kim succeeded in winning a third consecutive term based on the strong trust of the residents.
In the final results, with 100% of the votes tallied at all 33 polling stations, candidate Steve Kim, running for the city council to elect a total of eight members, secured 15,062 votes (9.26% of the vote), confirming his election with an overwhelming third-place finish. He maintained a stable top ranking throughout the election campaign, widening the gap by more than 5,750 votes over the elimination candidate in ninth place (9,303 votes). It is assessed that his diligent legislative activities and ability to resolve local issues over the past eight years led to the full support of multi-ethnic voters.
■ Burnaby: Paul Kwon Elected Board Member… Close Defeat Amid Strong Performance by Candidates Rea Park and Lynette Lee
In the City of Burnaby, fortunes were mixed.
First, Paul Kwon, a candidate running for the Burnaby School Trustee election (7 seats to be filled), secured his election as a member of the traditional local party, the BCA (Burnaby Citizens Association). Candidate Kwon successfully entered the School Trustee with a stable fifth-place finish, recording 19,563 votes (7.79% of the total). With all seven BCA candidates elected, Candidate Kwon, receiving unified support from his team, will lead the next generation of educational administration.
On the other hand, Korean candidates running in the Burnaby City Council election, which elects eight members amidst a chaotic field of over 40 candidates, unfortunately failed to cross the threshold after a fierce battle.
Candidate Rea Park, making her first bid as a member of the BCA, placed within the winning 8th position early in the vote count and engaged in a nail-biting battle until the very end, but ultimately finished the election in 10th place overall with 11,676 votes (3.60%). Although she failed to enter the race by a margin of approximately 1,370 votes from the 8th place cutoff (13,049 votes), she demonstrated a solid political standing and bright future potential by securing over 11,000 valuable votes as a political newcomer amidst a fierce battle involving over 40 prominent incumbent and veteran candidates.
Candidate Lynette Hyerin Lee, who ran as an independent for Burnaby City Council alongside Lee and challenged the status quo with fresh policies and a focus on residents, also faced the high wall of a multi-candidate race and suffered a bitter defeat, but she made her presence felt in the community as a next-generation Korean leader.
■ Langley Township: June Park finishes 'disappointing 9th' by just 217 votes... Outstanding performance within the team
June Park, a candidate running for the Township of Langley council (electing 8 members), fought the most dramatic battle of the election but failed to enter the council by a narrow margin.
With the final results of all 28 ballot boxes tallied, Candidate Park Kyung-joon, running as a member of 'Progress for Langley,' finished in 9th place overall with 11,827 votes (5.15%). The gap between him and the 8th-place candidate, Steve Ferguson (12,044 votes), who held the last winning position, was a mere 217 votes (0.1% difference). Although he narrowly missed entering the council, he left a deep impression on the local community by standing shoulder to shoulder with the team's leading candidates and achieving one of the best results among candidates from his own party.
■ Victoria: Susan Kim's re-election thwarted after a close race
In the City of Victoria election (electing 8 members), incumbent councilor Susan Kim ran for re-election but suffered a disappointing result.
According to the final vote count, Candidate Susan Kim received 9,283 votes (4.92%), placing 13th overall and failing to extend her term in office. The gap from the 8th-place cutoff (12,256 votes) was approximately 2,970 votes. Although she fell short of re-election, her track record of advocating for progressive agendas and minority rights within the community during her tenure was highly regarded.
■ Overall Assessment: The Widened Spectrum of Korean Political Participation
The 2026 BC local elections bore valuable fruit with Coquitlam Councillor Steve Kim securing a stable third term and Burnaby School Board Member Paul Kwon successfully entering office.
Although candidates such as Park Kyung-jun, Park Ria, Lee Hye-rin, and Susan Kim faced disappointing results at the threshold of a fiercely contested race, they rallied the support of tens of thousands of voters across a wide range of regions—including the Fraser Valley (Langley) and Vancouver Island (Victoria)—extending beyond the heart of Metro Vancouver, thereby significantly expanding the scope of Korean political power. The steps taken by these candidates, who confidently challenged for the sake of their respective communities, are expected to serve as a solid foundation for the advancement of the rights and interests of the Korean community and the political participation of the next generation.
HanaTV = Hannah Bae, Jungseok Kuk
