First Korean American State Lieutenant Governor Indicted on Bribery Charges

Accused of Accepting Bribes for COVID-19 Testing Budget Support
$10,000 in Checks Deposited into Campaign Account

Sylvia Chang Luke (Korean name Jang Eunjeong), the first Korean American to serve as lieutenant governor of a U.S. state and previously a figure of great attention, has been indicted on charges of bribery related to the budget for a COVID-19 testing project. On July 28, Yonhap News, citing reports from Politico and The New York Times, stated that a grand jury in Oahu, Hawaii returned indictments for conspiracy to accept bribes against Luke and four others, including current and former state officials and lobbyists.

Sylvia Chang Luke (Korean name Eunjeong Jang), who gained attention as the first Korean American Lieutenant Governor of a U.S. state. Official website of the Hawaii state government.

According to the reports, lobbyist and businessman Toby Solidum contacted Luke in early 2022 when he was worried that the budget for Hawaii’s local COVID-19 testing sites might be cut. At that time, Luke was the chair of the state House Finance Committee. On January 20 of the same year, Solidum met with Luke, his stepdaughter Christine Fay, and former state House member Ty Cullen at a steakhouse in Honolulu.

At the time, Cullen was cooperating with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and reportedly recorded their conversation. During the meeting, Fay handed Luke an envelope containing two $5,000 checks, one issued in her name and one in Solidum’s name. Solidum then stated that he could prepare $35,000 by the following week, clarifying this was “half of the promised $70,000.” According to the indictment, Luke responded positively to this offer.

Prosecutors believe that Solidum requested additional budget allocations for the COVID-19 testing project in exchange for supporting Luke’s campaign for lieutenant governor. In fact, during the dinner, Solidum mentioned campaign funds and subsequently asked whether federal funding could be used to continue the COVID-19 testing project, to which Luke reportedly replied that she would look into it. Prosecutors also discovered evidence that a $10,000 check was subsequently deposited into the campaign account “Friends of Sylvia Luke.”

Coincidentally, on the same day, Luke initiated a meeting to discuss emergency budget issues for the COVID-19 testing project. The House Finance Committee, which Luke chaired, subsequently approved a bill in the following month that allocated more than $170 million to COVID-19 response projects for the next two fiscal years. However, whether there was a quid pro quo relationship between this bill and the campaign donations will be decided in court.

Luke acknowledged that she had received two checks totaling $10,000, but she has denied accepting actual bribes or any additional campaign contributions. She previously stated, “I have never provided special favors to donors” and emphasized, “Throughout my public service, I have always prioritized integrity and honesty.” However, the timeline of when Luke returned the checks and whether they were deposited before being returned remains unclear. Luke’s camp insists that the checks were not used and were returned, but prosecutors found that the checks were in fact deposited into the campaign account and that the related transactions were not reported promptly in the campaign finance disclosures.

This case also leaves questions about the whereabouts of the “$35,000 in a paper envelope.” Previously, federal prosecutors stated that in 2022, a prominent state lawmaker received about $35,000 in a paper envelope, but in this week’s indictment, only the $10,000 in checks received by Luke was specified. There was no mention of the paper envelope or any additional cash having been delivered.

After news broke in April that she was under investigation, Luke withdrew from her reelection bid and took an unpaid leave of absence. Keith Regan, the state comptroller for Hawaii, is currently serving as acting lieutenant governor. On the day of her indictment, Luke appeared before law enforcement and was released on $80,000 bail. Hawaii Governor Josh Green effectively urged her resignation, stating, “The lieutenant governor needs to consider an official resignation to address these issues and allow Hawaii to move forward.”

Born in Seoul in 1967, Luke immigrated to Hawaii with her family at age nine and is considered a member of the “1.5 generation” of Korean Americans. She worked as an attorney before being first elected to the state House of Representatives in 1998, serving for 24 years, and in 2022, she was elected lieutenant governor. As the first Korean American to hold statewide elected office in the United States, the impact of this indictment is expected to be significant both within the Korean American community and Hawaii's political circles.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.