Henry Sangtai Kim, an accountant and business advocate who helped establish the first Koreatown in Maryland, dies

Henry Sangtai Kim, an authorized public accountant who was energetic within the native Asian American group, died of a lung situation Might 28 at Howard County Normal Hospital. He was about to show 76 and lived in Clarksville.

Born in Seoul, South Korea, he earned a bachelor’s diploma in economics at Yonsei College and a Grasp of Science in accounting at Syracuse College.

In 1971, Mr. Kim immigrated to the U.S. He based his licensed public accounting enterprise in Baltimore and Silver Spring eight years later. He had an workplace at 1023 S. Charles St. in Federal Hill.

He served different members of Asian American communities all through the mid-Atlantic area.

“My father was essentially the most hardworking man I’ve ever recognized,” mentioned his son Thomas W. Kim. “He was passionate in his work. He loved giving speeches and doing social work within the Korean American group. He helped so many individuals.”

“Henry leaves an extended and revered legacy,” mentioned a household good friend, Eun Kim, from Ellicott Metropolis. “He was a constructive one that was calm and type to anybody who wanted assist. He was there for others.”

Mr. Kim was the chair of the Koreatown Planning Committee Board Inc. in Ellicott Metropolis and helped increase over $700,000 to ascertain the primary Koreatown in Maryland.

When Koreatown opened in October 2021, Mr. Kim launched Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan at a celebratory ceremony.

After he heard Mr. Kim’s phrases, Gov. Hogan mentioned, “That was an amazing introduction. I believe I’m going to take Henry Kim in all places I am going.”

Energetic in Republican Get together circles, Mr. Kim was the previous chair of the Asian Pacific American Affairs Fee beneath Gov. Hogan and has been vice chair of the Asian Pacific American Affairs Fee beneath the previous Gov. Robert Ehrlich.

Mr. Kim was additionally the previous chairman of the Korean Society of Maryland and the chair of the Korean Enterprise Enterprise Affiliation.

Amongst his many pursuits, Mr. Kim had been controller of the Occasions Crescent Publishing Co. in La Plata within the Nineteen Seventies and a controller and enterprise supervisor for the Nationwide Middle for Group Actions Inc. in Washington.

A proponent of financial progress coverage in Maryland, Mr. Kim assisted in relocating a number of Washington, D.C., companies to Maryland in 2018, mentioned a household obituary.

Mr. Kim was a delegate in Prince George’s County’s China-Korea Commerce Mission Journey in 2017 to draw Chinese language and Korean corporations to Maryland. His household mentioned he negotiated with six corporations in China and Korea, together with Shandong Taixin Curtain Wall Engineering Co. LTD and actual property companies.

In his capability as president of S.T. Kim Firm LLC, he labored with purchasers in retail, manufacturing and nonprofit organizations. He offered accounting, tax preparation, audit illustration, and enterprise acquisition and administration providers.

His agency additionally specialised in business property acquisitions and property administration within the Baltimore-Washington market.

His household mentioned Mr. Kim donated his time to safe nonprofit exemption standing from the IRS for the Korean American Grocery Group of Maryland, the Korean Businessmen’s League, the Korean Faculty of Baltimore and Korean church buildings.

Mr. Kim was the chief director of the Sejong Scholarship Basis of America.

He had been a visitor speaker and performed a workshop titled “The right way to Develop your Enterprise and Private Wealth and Nonetheless Plan for Taxes.”

He wrote and revealed a bilingual information for small businessmen and was co-founder of the Korean Language Program on the College of Maryland, Baltimore County.

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As well as, he had a Korean American radio program based mostly in Rockville. He had been a senior adviser for the Advisory Council on Democratic Peaceable Unification in Washington and has acquired a presidential award from the Korean authorities for his efforts in reunification of South and North Korea.

Mr. Kim acquired Distinguished Public Service awards from governors Parris Glendening, Ehrlich, Martin O’Malley and Hogan. He additionally acquired the 2021 President’s Gold Volunteer Service Award and the 2022 President’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

“My husband was blind for the final seven years of his life. He didn’t need to use a cane, and he walked by himself in acquainted areas. Different locations, we walked collectively, facet by facet,” mentioned his spouse of 43 years, Dr. Youngja L. Kim. “He by no means in contrast himself with anybody else. He set a objective, after which he achieved it. He was optimistic. He mentioned, ‘Doing issues for different individuals is like doing issues for your self.’”

Mr. Kim was a member of the Buddhist religion. As a younger man, he spent a 12 months in a Buddhist monastery but in addition attended Christian colleges.

“He was open to each faiths,” mentioned his spouse.

Survivors embrace his spouse, a retired College of Maryland, Baltimore County instructor of English as a second language; his twin sons, George J. Kim and Thomas W. Kim, each of Clarksville; a brother, Jason Sangwoo Kim of Fairfax, Virginia; and a sister, Dr. Sookhui Peterson of Cedarburg, Wisconsin.

Providers had been held Saturday.