December 4th, 2025
ECU Files Complaint Requesting Investigation into Rep. Young Kim’s Failure to Disclose Nearly $50,000 in Privately-Funded Travel
End Citizens United (ECU), a leading national campaign finance reform organization, today submitted a complaint to the U.S. House Office of Congressional Conduct calling for an immediate investigation into Representative Young Kim (CA-40) for violating federal law by failing to report nearly $50,000 in privately-sponsored travel.
NOTUS first detailed the complaint in an exclusive report published on Thursday.
According to the complaint, Rep. Kim accepted multiple trips funded by private organizations—including the American Israel Education Foundation, the Republican MainStreet Partnership, the Gates Global Policy Center, The Korea Society, and the Governing Majority Education Fund—but did not disclose the trip expenses on her personal financial disclosure statements, as required under the Ethics in Government Act of 1978. The undisclosed travel, which includes foreign trips with business-class flights and luxury hotel stays for Rep. Kim and her husband, is estimated at nearly $50,000.
Despite repeated, explicit reminders from the House Committee on Ethics to report these trips, Rep. Kim ignored the guidance entirely and submitted no disclosures.
“As families across California struggle with a crushing cost-of-living crisis, Rep. Young Kim is getting wined and dined, flying business class and staying in five-star hotels, while keeping her constituents in the dark about who’s footing the bill,” said End Citizens United President Tiffany Muller. “She blatantly disregarded federal law five separate times, hiding the source of nearly $50,000 in privately-funded trips, including travel to foreign countries. We're calling on the Office of Congressional Conduct to investigate Rep. Kim and hold her accountable for this pattern of unethical behavior.”
The complaint filed by ECU details trips including:
February 2022: $25,000+ paid by the American Israel Education Foundation for Rep. Kim and her husband to travel from Los Angeles to Israel. According to the trip's itinerary, Kim stayed in the David Citadel Hotel — a five star luxury hotel.
March 2022: $1,100+ paid by the Republican MainStreet Partnership for travel from Washington, D.C. to San Antonio, Texas.
December 2023: $1,000+ paid by the Gates Global Policy Center for travel from Washington, D.C. to Williamsburg, Virginia.
March 2024: $19,000+ paid by The Korea Society and the U.S. Association of Former Members of Congress for travel for Rep. Kim and her husband from Los Angeles to Seoul and Busan, South Korea. The Kims stayed at two five-star hotels: The Shilla Seoul and the Lotte Hotel Seoul.
April 2024: $1,700+ paid by The Governing Majority Education Fund for travel to New York City.
Click here to read the full complaint.
For comment on the complaint against Rep. Kim and the broader culture of corruption and ethics failures in Congress, ECU President Tiffany Muller is available for an interview. To schedule, please contact Kolby Lee (kolbylee@endcitizensunited.org).
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For 10 Years, End Citizens United (ECU) has been dedicated to combating the two biggest challenges facing our democracy: the corrosive impact of Big Money in politics and attempts to block access to the ballot box. Since its founding in 2015, ECU has had over 1.4 million donors with an average donation of just $14. The group has more than four million members nationwide and is one of the nation’s leading anti-corruption organizations.