Juan Hong

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Juan Hong

Democratic Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

June 23, 2020

Education

Bachelor's

City University of New York, Hunter College, 1991

Law

Albany Law School, 1994

Personal

Profession

Professor/lawyer

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Juan Hong (Democratic Party) ran for election for the Queens 6th Municipal Court District judge of the New York City Civil Court Queens County. He lost in the Democratic primary on June 23, 2020.

Hong completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Juan Hong was born in Seoul, South Korea. Hong earned an undergraduate degree from Hunter College, City University of New York in June 1991 and a law degree from Albany Law School, Union University in June 1994. His professional experience includes working as a lawyer and college professor. Hong has been affiliated with the East Elmhurst Corona Democratic Club.

Elections

2020

See also: Municipal elections in Queens County, New York (2020)

General election

General election for New York City Civil Court Queens County 6th Municipal Court District

Leigh Cheng won election in the general election for New York City Civil Court Queens County 6th Municipal Court District on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Leigh Cheng (D)	99.1	97,097
		Other/Write-in votes	0.9	907

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 98,004
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for New York City Civil Court Queens County 6th Municipal Court District

Leigh Cheng defeated Juan Hong in the Democratic primary for New York City Civil Court Queens County 6th Municipal Court District on June 23, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Leigh Cheng	63.6	14,753
		Juan Hong	35.9	8,321
		Other/Write-in votes	0.5	113

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 23,187
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2020

Video for Ballotpedia

Video submitted to Ballotpedia Released April 11, 2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Juan Hong completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Hong's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

My name is Juan Hong, the first Asian Hispanic American lawyer running for Queens Civil Court Judge on the June 23, 2020 primary election.

I was born in South Korea but spent most of my childhood in South America before settling in Queens NY. After graduating from William Cullen Bryant High School in Long Island City, I obtained a bachelor's degree from Hunter College , Magna Cum Laude, and later obtained a law degree from Albany Law Aschool. I have built a positive reputation as a lawyer and CUNY college professor for the past 20 years. I am a native Spanish speaker as a result of having lived in Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina, Bolivia,Brazil and Venezuela. However, I am also loyal to my roots and speak Korean fluently. I have also dedicated my life to public service ; I have served as an Administrative Law Judge for the Environmental Control Board(OATH), and as counsel for the New York City Council and the NYS State Senate. I currently reside in Bayside with my loving wife of 20 years and a dog named Ruby and my daughter is currently studying at the University of Rochester with a major neuroscience. I am prepared and ready to serve one of the most diverse city in the world , Queens NY without bias or favoritism.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Integrity
• A Real Choice
• Independence

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am passionate about promoting equality and diversity, as well as fairly representing people of all socioeconomic backgrounds. At a non-profit organization, I volunteered to help individuals obtain United States citizenship. Some of my work included teaching the history of the United States and English. Becoming a US Citizen comes with a number of benefits: the individual has the chance to vote, which lends them a voice in society so they can establish themselves socially and economically with dignity. Furthermore, I have volunteered to assist attorneys who represent people who are faced with removal proceedings ( or deportation) by making motions to cancel their removal. Deportation can cruelly tear families apart and cause trauma to the children of the families involved.. Having immigrated to the United States myself, I have been fortunate in being granted citizenship and have led a successful life thereafter. I want to be able to give this opportunity to others as well. In Puerto Rico and Albany, I attended the SOMOS meetings, where discussions are conducted regarding the need for bail reform, especially cases that affect young individuals. I am also passionate about providing support to my community; I have volunteered to help transport and distribute donated foods to people in NYC. I have also been actively giving out masks to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus. I am a proponent of diversity in the Court.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I look up to my parents for being an hardworking, honest, and family oriented. My parents and my siblings left South Korea in early 70"s because there were so many rumors that North Korea's invasion of South Korea was imminent. This is the reason why South Koreans went on to live in countries all over the world. My parents instilled in all of us the concept of being hardworking, being honest and follow our dreams with passion and dedication and never give up . My sisters and I lived in so many countries and we were uniquely exposed to different cultures and languages. My parents always supported and protected the family and taught us to be strong and together in the harshest of time.
That is why I decided to embark on becoming a judge and I will followed to the end what I learned from them. I believe that I will be elected with dedication and hard work.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

The responsibilities are to move the calendar by efficiently processing cases, knowledge of the applicable laws and procedures, integrity, and the ability to deliver justice without bias or favoritism.

What legacy would you like to leave?

I want to be known as the first Independent Korean Hispanic American Democrat to be elected by the people of Queens County as a judge of the Civil Court so other minorities run in the future for judicial offices.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

My family and I immigrated to the United States in 1984 when I was about 16 years old from South America and we settled in Queens New York. I was fascinated with the concept of "Democracy" in the United States. People were free to practice different religions, dress in their traditional garments, speak different languages, and eat great variety of ethnic foods. Moreover, even though I am Korean, it was the first time in my life that I saw so many Koreans. I thought that in the United States people were not corrupt and that that there was no nepotism like in many countries where I lived.
I was grew older I saw discrimination based on race, ethnic background, social class, gender, sexual orientation and other. In terms of politics, I saw that political machines controlled who was going to be in power and not the people. Also, I saw that in order to be in the direct circle of the political machine, one has to do favors and financially contribute before the machine can give the favor back. I told myself that I was not going to be part of that cycle of giving, receiving and owing but that if someday I run for politics or a judicial position would be independent from them. That is why I am running as an Independent Democrat and I do not want that I will owe anything to a political machine. I want to be elected to restore judicial independence and also restore the confidence of people by giving to the people the power to choose a candidate of their own and not one that was designated to run by a party.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My first part time job while I was in college was working at my father's delicatessen in Ozone Park, New York from the 80's until1991 when I graduated from college. As a son of immigrants who owned a small business, I often multitasked by working as a cashier, sandwich maker, restocking merchandise, and sweeping outside and inside the store. This job lasted until I graduated college and went to law school. After graduating from law school, I felt the need to be a pioneer. Thus I opened a law firm with my law school classmate in Elmhurst New York in 1995 right after I graduated from law school and licensed to practice law.

What is your favorite book? Why?

My favorite book is "Don Quixote de la Mancha", by Miguel de Cervantes because even though it may depict fictional characters and situations, it is a true reflection of any society, old or new and transcends all cultural and ethnical backgrounds.

Why are you running for this particular court seat?

I am running as a Civil Court in the 6h Municipal District of Queens County because it has a great historical significance. There has been no judge of Korean descent ever elected in a county wide election or in a local election. Furthermore, the political machine in Queens County never designated a Korean to run and I doubt that it will ever. It is sad that in a county with so many Koreans, that one was never elected. I believe I am qualified and able to be a very good jurist.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for a judge to have previous experience in government or politics?

I believe that anyone can be a good judge without having previous experience in government or politics as long as the person possesses integrity, experience and knowledge of the laws and procedures that can bring to the bench and the willingness to fairly and accurate deliver justice without prejudice or favoritism.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

See also

2020 Elections

What's on the ballot? U.S. President U.S. Congress U.S. Congress special elections State executives State legislatures State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards Election analysis hub

Government

Who represents me? U.S. Congress State executives State legislators State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards

Newsletters

Coronavirus Weekly Updates Documenting America's Path to Recovery The Heart of the Primaries The Daily Brew The Weekly Brew The Ballot Bulletin Checks and Balances Economy and Society Hall Pass Number of the Day Robe & Gavel Union Station

External links

• Search Google News for this topic

Footnotes

New York courts

---

Federal courts:

Second Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of New York, Western District of New York, Northern District of New York, Southern District of New York • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of New York, Western District of New York, Northern District of New York, Southern District of New York

State courts:

New York Court of Appeals • New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division • New York Supreme Court • New York County Courts • New York City Courts • New York Town and Village Courts • New York Family Courts • New York Surrogates' Courts • New York City Civil Court • New York City Criminal Courts • New York Court of Claims • New York Problem Solving Courts

State resources:

Courts in New York • New York judicial elections • Judicial selection in New York