Candidate Doesn’t Say How : Gallegly Foe Seeks to Solve U. S. Problems

A Korean-born businessman running for Congress pledged Tuesday to “help America solve its problems,” but declined to explain how he would do so.

Sang R. Korman, 50, said at a press conference announcing his candidacy that he would reduce the federal budget by cutting wasteful programs and would increase the sale of U. S. goods abroad.

But campaign aides abruptly cut off questions to Korman and whisked him away before the Newbury Park resident could say how he planned to accomplish those goals or explain his position on a number of key national issues.

Korman, a Republican, is opposing first-term Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley) in the June 7 primary for the 21st Congressional District. The district includes eastern Ventura County, part of the north and West San Fernando Valley, Fillmore, Ojai and Santa Catalina Island.

Campaign manager Bob Lavoie said Korman is still studying the views of district residents taken during recent surveys and would announce his position on various issues later in the race.

The few issues that Korman did comment on during the press conference, held at the Hyatt Westlake Plaza Hotel, mirror views held by the incumbent he hopes to defeat.

Korman said he supports continued aid to the Contra rebels in Nicaragua and President Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative, known as “Star Wars.”

Korman ruled out raising taxes to reduce the federal deficit, likening the suggestion to “curing a hangover by going back to the saloon.” He also said he opposes raising tariffs to stem the flow of imported goods to the United States.

“It sounds like he is reiterating what Congressman Gallegly has been carrying out for quite some time,” said Gallegly’s administrative aide, Mike Sedell. “The congressman will stand on his record, and it sounds like this gentleman has no quarrel with that record.”

Gallegly, 43, succeeded Rep. Bobbi Fiedler, who ran unsuccessfully for the U. S. Senate in 1986 and did not seek reelection to the House. He was mayor of Simi Valley for six years of the seven years he served on the City Council there, from 1979 to 1986.

Korman said he would not criticize Gallegly, who has been a strong supporter of Reagan Administration policies while representing the predominantly white, middle-class, Republican area.

But Korman said being born and raised in Korea gives him an edge over Gallegly in the area of international trade. “I have better eyes to see how we can compete better with Asian countries . . . because I know how they think,” he said.

Occasionally speaking in halting English, Korman said he is running for Congress to repay his adopted country through public service. Korman, whose company, Goldwell Investors, has built several Los Angeles-area office buildings, became a naturalized citizen in 1980, he said.

‘Korean-Man’

Korman said he changed his last name from Suh after coming to the United States 16 years ago because “this would be an easy way for people to help people remember my name.” The name Korman stands for “Korean-man,” he said.

But Korman declared, “I am very proud of being an American citizen.” He wore a pin of the U. S. flag on his lapel and dressed in red, white and blue.

Lavoie, who works for Marathon Communications--a well-known Los Angeles-based political consulting firm hired by Korman to conduct his campaign--said recent campaign surveys show that Gallegly has not achieved widespread recognition in the district.

Sedell said the congressman’s own surveys disagree. Sedell said Gallegly is well-known in the district and “has a very, very positive image in the minds of constituents.”

Lavoie said it will take at least $300,000 to mount an effective campaign against Gallegly. Korman expects to receive a portion of that from the Korean-American community in the Los Angeles area. Representatives of Korean-language newspapers, as well as several Korean businessmen, attended the press conference.

Korman has been well-received by area voters during preliminary door-to-door campaigning although they have occasional problems understanding his English, Lavoie said. “There have been lots of immigrants who have spoken English less fluently who have made a tremendous impact in America,” he said.

Prepared Statement

In a six-page prepared statement recited mostly from memory, Korman said he believes he can win the Republican nomination despite being an immigrant, a political novice and not widely known in the district. “When I came to this country 16 years ago, many things seemed impossible,” he said.

Korman arrived in the United States with less than $100 and was unable to speak English, according to a written biography distributed before the press conference. But after several years of working menial jobs, he went on to become the owner of a successful real estate development firm, the biography said.

Korman has a degree in political science from Korea University in Seoul, his campaign materials said. He is married and has three sons.