Beong-Soo Kim

Beong-Soo Kim is an American lawyer who became the president of the University of Southern California in February 2026. Before this, he served as the senior vice president and general counsel of the university from July 2020 to June 2025. He then acted as Interim President from July 2025 until he officially took on the role of president in February 2026. His work helps guide one of the largest universities in the United States.

Early life and education

Beong-Soo Kim was born in Harbor City, California and grew up in Woodland Hills. His parents came from Korea and both went to graduate school at the University of Southern California. While in high school at Calabasas High School, Kim learned to play the cello with a teacher from the USC Thornton School of Music.

Kim went to Harvard College, where he wrote for The Harvard Crimson, led a community program, and played in an orchestra. He finished with top honors and was part of Phi Beta Kappa. After that, he got an M.Sc. from the London School of Economics and worked in New York City. Finally, he went to Harvard Law School and graduated with honors in 1999.

Career

Kim started his career as a lawyer by working with Judge Robert D. Sack of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He also taught at Harvard University and worked at a law firm called Munger, Tolles & Olson, LLP.

Later, Kim worked for nine years as a prosecutor in the United States Attorney's Office for the Central District of California. During this time, he also taught at USC's Gould School of Law and handled cases about fraud. He even became the leader of the Major Frauds section. In 2022, he returned to talk about building a legacy for Asian-Americans.

After his time as a prosecutor, Kim became a partner at Jones Day and then worked for nearly six years as a vice president at Kaiser Permanente.

In July 2020, Kim became the senior vice president and general counsel of the University of Southern California. In this role, he helped lead important projects and gave advice to the university's leaders. He stayed in this position until June 2025.

In February 2025, it was announced that Kim would become the interim president of USC starting in July 2025, after Carol Folt retired. Then, in February 2026, Kim was chosen to be the 13th president of USC.

Personal life

Beong-Soo Kim is married to Bonnie Wongtrakool, who works as an investment manager. Both of them enjoy music as hobbies.