Wealth & Poverty Review Bellevue Squatter Sang Kim Kicked Out of Rental Property
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After two years of hell, Bellevue deadbeat tenants Sang and Youjin Kim have finally been kicked out of their rental property.
After numerous legal rulings against them, the Kims were supposed to vacate by Saturday. But they went past the deadline and left a mess.
Where Will the Kims Go Next?
It’s unclear where the Kims are headed. But they have kids in the Bellevue school district and it appears they have found another property. If they are renting, good luck to the landlord.
Housing Court Is Broken
Reality is, housing court is still backed up, evictions are delayed, and mom & pop landlords are losing rights.
The Kims and other serial squatters are just taking advantage of failed polices pushed by lawmakers such as former State Sen. Patty Kuderer.
Squatters Defended by Your Tax Dollars
And taxpayer-funded legal groups like The King County Bar Association’s Housing Justice Project is representing unqualified clients like the Kims and tying up the courts.
Landlord Jaskaran Singh
But throughout this ordeal, I saw a new class of activists emerge against injustice. The owner of the property is Jaskaran Singh. This immigrant from India decided it was time to fight back. Here’s the first story in November of 2023 that started it all.
Gathering Attention
Other news outlets finally started to take notice. The story was so egregious, even global players like the Daily Mail wrote several stories about this preposterous ordeal.
A Global Following
Even YouTube influencers with massive followings in Kims native South Korea started mocking this absurd situation.
Mobilizing a Community
But the real pressure started once Singh figured out how to mobilize and unite the community through a series of powerful protests. Public shaming continues to be the way to go in these situations. That’s when the politicians start to notice.
Confronting Housing Justice Project
Singh and his allies didn’t stop with the protests on the streets. He confronted lawyers with Housing Justice Project and asked them why they would represent an alleged con man.
Before the County Council
Singh also testified in front of the King County Council to beef up protections for mom & pop landlords. He wanted a full audit of all the taxpayer funds flowing into Housing Justice Project.
KCC Vice Chair Reagan Dunn was the only one who tried to help.
Before the City Council
The Bellevue City Council was next. Singh testified several times. But in reality, this political body had no juice in this matter. Councilmember Jared Nieuwenhuis was the only one who showed public support by coming out to protest.
Kim Lost Protection Order Battle
After this public relations assault, Kim started feeling the squeeze and had the gall to file a protection order against Singh so he could no longer protest near his own rental property. Of course Kim convincingly lost that battle.
Kim Loses Another Protection Order Battle
Kim also came after me in court. I want to use this opportunity to say our team at Discovery Institute is heavily lawyered up. How do you think this ended? Once again, not well for Kim.
It Took Months to Evict
After the judge finally ruled in Singh’s favor on this eviction, it still took months to finally get them out. And the Kims still owe thousands of dollars in back rent. Here is my one encounter with Kim early on where he didn’t shut the door in my face.
Landlords: You’re On Your Own
Being a mom & pop landlord in Washington State is a massive gamble. If you get a bad tenant, you are basically on your own. At one of the first protests, this fella brought a field hockey stick to handle business. But Singh intervened and told him to back off.
Singh Runs for Office
Instead of becoming a victim, Singh decided to run for office and leverage this ordeal as a rallying cry for all Washington State residents who have been screwed over by their government. Even though he didn’t win, his trial has activated others to continue the fight.
How You Can Help
In closing, I want to say this story would not have seen the light of day without Discovery Institute’s support. In this day and age where our journalism landscape is being altered, you will never see a local news outlet offer this type of in-depth continuing coverage. In order to do more investigative reporting, we need your help. Please consider donating to this mission so we can continue to shine a light on dark places and hold our government officials accountable.