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Steve Kim

Partner

steve.kim@rkfglobal.com

 

 

Steve Kim advises companies both domestically and internationally on regulatory and government, international trade and financing and general corporate issues. Kim currently serves in senior leadership as general counsel for several international companies where he leads and directs the organizations’ legal, regulatory, international government relations and global business development activities.  

Mr. Kim is the General Counsel and a Principal at Global Business Ventures, a Chicago-based international development firm formed to assemble the global alliances that have proven capabilities and experiences to launch world-class community developments that fulfill the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 master plan.

 

In addition to his law practice, Steve serves in a number of capacities by virtue of appointments by various Illinois public entities and political figures.  In 2015, then-Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner appointed, and the Illinois State Senate confirmed, Steve to serve as a Commissioner of the Illinois Human Rights Commission, a judicial administrative agency charged with enforcing the Illinois Human Rights Act.  In 2016, Steve was appointed by the Justices of the Illinois Supreme Court to serve as a member on the influential Rules Committee of the Supreme Court.  Steve also serves on U.S. Senator Mark Kirk’s Small Business Advisory Board, and is chairman of Senator Kirk’s Asian American Advisory Board.  Most recently, Steve was appointed by the Lake County Chairman to serve as a member of the Lake County Government Reform and Accountability Commission.  

 

Steve also currently serves in important roles outside his home state of Illinois.  He is a member of the U.S. Department of State’s Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC), as well as the steering committee for Basra, Iraq.  Steve has also been appointed by the Turkish American Business Association in Istanbul as the Association’s representative in Illinois.

 

Steve has also remained politically active in both state and federal elections, both as a candidate as well as an appointed representative.  Steve was the Republican nominee for Attorney General of the State of Illinois in the 2010 Statewide Elections – garnering over 1.2 million votes – making him the first Asian American in Illinois to have earned the nomination of a major political party.  Steve was also selected as the running mate for then-Illinois State Treasurer Dan Rutherford in the 2014 Illinois gubernatorial primary to run as Lieutenant Governor.  During Rutherford’s tenure as Illinois Treasurer, Steve was chairman of the Illinois State Treasurer’s Performance Audit Committee and served as the Treasurer’s Business Adviser.

 

Steve previously served as General Counsel at Coils Inc., an international manufacturer of automotive parts and components.  Steve also served as Vice President of Government and Public Affairs at Time Warner Cable, as well as Director of External Affairs at AT&T Illinois. 

 

Prior to his work in the private sector, Steve was Special Assistant to then-Illinois Governor Jim Edgar, where he advised on international trade, economic development and Asian Affairs issues.  His government service also included serving as International Trade Specialist at the Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs, and as Director of Export and International Trade for the Illinois State Chamber of Commerce. 

Admissions

Illinois

 

Languages

English

Korean

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