Jhin Accuses Sybert of Playing ‘Race Card’ in Campaign Mailer

His voice shaking with anger, Republican congressional candidate K. Paul Jhin on Saturday accused rival Rich Sybert of “lying” and “playing the race card” in a campaign mailer that questions Jhin’s name, his Republican credentials and whether his campaign has ties to foreign corporations.

“I’m a Christian and I try to practice the golden rule,” Jhin said. “But when I got this [mailer] I was shocked. It is irresponsible for somebody who wants to be a congressman to slander somebody’s character.”

Sybert sent the mailer to 26,000 registered Republicans in the 24th District, which includes Thousand Oaks, Malibu and portions of the San Fernando Valley. Both men are competing for a chance to replace Rep. Anthony C. Beilenson (D-Woodland Hills) when he retires next year.

Sybert could not be reached for comment Saturday. But his campaign director, John Theiss, said, “I think Mr. Jhin is being a little too sensitive.”

The mailer’s cover carries the headline: “Is Candidate ‘Paul’ Jhin A Fraud?” and has a picture of Jhin with the word “EXPOSED” stamped across his face. Inside, it accuses Jhin of violating federal election laws, lying about his Republican credentials and changing his name for the election.

“Kyo Ryoon Jhin was born in Korea in 1933 and has used his real name for over 60 years,” the mailer states. “Two months ago, he submitted his election papers as Kyo Jhin. Then he told election officials to change his name to ‘Paul.’ ”

It’s true Jhin changed his ballot designation from “Kyo Jhin” to “K. Paul Jhin.” But he said he has used both Kyo and Paul interchangeably since he emigrated to the United States in 1955 and that he is not hiding his name, as the mailer suggests.

“In 1955, I was baptized and I was given the name Paul,” the 62-year-old Jhin said. “I’m proud of my ethnic name Kyo and I’m proud of my Christian name. They both mean teacher. His [Sybert’s] remark is racist.”

Jhin took issue with the mailer’s accusation that he is somehow violating federal election laws. The flier states:

“Jhin is apparently spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on his campaign, yet he has refused to file any reports or financial disclosures with the Federal Elections Commission showing the sources of these funds as required by law. Why? Is Jhin covering up contributions from foreign corporations?”

Jhin and his campaign treasurer, John A. Ellis III, said they filed his financial disclosure report on time with the clerk of the House of Representatives, which was the accepted procedure until this year. Because of confusion stemming from the new system, the clerk’s office promised to forward the report to the Federal Elections Commission, Ellis said.

Ellis produced a 25-page report and a certified mail receipt postmarked March 11, the day the pre-primary finance reports were due.

The report showed that as of March 8, Jhin had raised $28,946 from individual donors nationwide and had loaned his campaign $51,275.

“He’s trying to infer that I received money from foreign corporations,” Jhin said. “That’s an absolute lie. I didn’t receive one penny from a corporation.”

Defending the mailer, Theiss said campaign staff members checked repeatedly with the Federal Elections Commission for Jhin’s report and it was not there. The last day Sybert’s campaign checked was March 20, the day the mailer was printed.

Theiss acknowledged he had no direct evidence that Jhin’s campaign had spent “hundreds of thousands of dollars,” or that he had received any contributions from foreign corporations, which is illegal.

“We are just asking the question,” Theiss said. “Every candidate is required to file a campaign finance report once they have raised or spent $5,000. If he is not willing to disclose his finances, it only leads me to believe that he is hiding something.”

The mailer also calls into question Jhin’s credentials as “a ‘Reagan’ Republican leader from Malibu.” The flier said Jhin was not registered to vote in California until 1994 and has no ties to the district. “Local Republicans have never heard of him and he has no record of leadership in our Party,” it contends.

Jhin said it’s true that he moved to Malibu in 1994, the same year Sybert moved to the district. But Jhin said he has a long history of Republican Party leadership, including a stint as secretary of the Maryland Republican Party and vice chairman for Korean Americans for Reagan-Bush ’84 Committee.

“He’s playing dirty, dirty politics,” Jhin said. “I don’t know how he could do these things and sleep with a clear conscience. If I did this to him, I couldn’t sleep. I’d rather lose and have a clear conscience.”