Vitalii Kim

Vitalii Oleksandrovych Kim (Ukrainian: Віталій Олександрович Кім; born 13 March 1981) is a Ukrainian businessman and politician of Korean origin, who has been the Governor of Mykolaiv Oblast since 2020. He is also head of the Mykolayiv Regional Military Administration.

In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming conventions, the patronymic is Oleksandrovych and the family name is Kim.
Vitalii Kim
Віталій Кім
Governor of Mykolaiv Oblast
Assumed office
25 November 2020
Preceded byHeorhiy Reshetilov
Personal details
Born (1981-03-13) 13 March 1981
Mykolaiv, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
(now Ukraine)
Political partyIndependent
SpouseYuliya Vitalivna Kim

Biography

Vitalii Oleksandrovych Kim was born on 13 March 1981 in Mykolaiv. His father, Oleksandr, is an honored basketball coach of Koryo-saram ancestry, and was a player on the Soviet Union youth team.[1]

Kim graduated from the Mykolaiv Gymnasium No. 2 and the Admiral Makarov National University of Shipbuilding with a degree in enterprise economics.[1][2]

In 1998, he began to engage in entrepreneurial activity. He was the managing partner of the Ushuaja entertainment complex.[2]

In 2003, he worked for the Ukrpromresurs company, which was engaged in public sector auditing. From 2005 to 2011 he managed a number of enterprises in Mykolaiv, was engaged in international investments. From 2015 to 2016, he headed the analytical department of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy of Ukraine.[2] He is also a founder of a group of development companies, engaged in the construction of residential complexes "Orange", "Concert" and "Uyutny".[3]

Political activity

In 2019, he was a volunteer of the Mykolaiv branch of the Servant of the People party in the presidential and parliamentary elections.[3] During the local elections of 2020, he was a candidate for deputies of the Mykolaiv city council from Servant of the People under No. 2, while remaining non-partisan.[4] Kim was also the head of the party's election headquarters and campaigned for the city and regional councils.[1][2]

On 25 November 2020, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy appointed Kim governor of Mykolaiv Oblast.[5]

During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Kim's role as governor of Mykolaiv Oblast made him prominent as Mykolaiv faced an ultimately-unsuccessful attack from Russian forces. Regarded by western sources such as The Economist as a charismatic leader,[6] he has held daily video updates of the oblast's situation, which have garnered a following and established him as a popular figure across Ukraine due to his wit and mockery of the Russian Army.[7] On 29 March 2022, his office was hit by a Russian missile in an airstrike, killing at least 37 people.[8]

Personal life

Family

He is married to Yuliya Vitalivna Kim, and is raising three children.[1] They have two daughters, Yevheniya and Oleksandra, and one son, Ruslan.[1]

In addition to Ukrainian, Kim speaks Russian and English, in addition to some French and Korean, the latter owing to his Koryo-saram ancestry.[1]

Health

On 9 December 2020, Kim stated that his wife may have contracted COVID-19 and went into self-isolation.[9]

References
  1. Акимова Юлия (2020-10-16). ""Вставай и делай что-то полезное...": интервью с руководителем штаба "Слуги народа" в Николаеве Виталием Кимом". news.pn (in Russian). Retrieved 2020-11-26.
  2. "Виталий Ким". Слово и Дело (in Russian). Retrieved 2020-11-26.
  3. Середа Катерина (2020-06-01). "Арахамия рассказал, кто возглавит избирательный штаб "Слуги народа" в Николаеве". nikvesti.com (in Russian). Retrieved 2020-11-26.
  4. "Миколаївська міська рада". cvk.gov.ua (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2020-11-26.
  5. "Президент назначил Виталия Кима главой Николаевской ОГА". Официальное интернет-представительство Президента Украины (in Russian). 2020-11-25. Retrieved 2020-11-26.
  6. "Still Mykolaiv: A charismatic governor leads the defence of a strategic Ukrainian port". The Economist. 16 March 2022. Retrieved 16 April 2022.
  7. "Twelve dead in strike on Mykolaiv governor's office". British Broadcasting Corporation. 29 March 2022. Retrieved 16 April 2022.
  8. Zinets, Natalia (1 April 2022). "Death toll rises to 31 from strike on government building in Ukraine's Mykolaiv". Reuters. Retrieved 16 April 2022.
  9. "Після сесії Миколаївської облради голова ОДА заявив, що має симптоми COVID-19 йде на самоізоляцію". mykolaiv-yes.com.ua (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2020-12-10.
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