A Korean American adoptee, brought up by a family in the United States, has been appointed to the 18th Judicial District Court of Colorado.
Governor Jared Polis recently named Attorney Victoria E. Klingensmith (Korean name Sunju Park) as a judge for the U.S. District Court in the 18th Judicial District.
Taking office on September 1, Klingensmith will preside over cases in Arapahoe, Douglas, Elbert, and Lincoln counties.
Formerly serving as the Senior Chief Deputy District Attorney in the 18th Judicial District, she has also been an Adjunct Professor at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law since 2018.
Adopted at the age of six months by a family in Littleton, Colorado, Klingensmith is an alumna of the University of Denver and the University of Colorado School of Law.
Her legal career began in 2003 upon being admitted to the bar, after which she worked as a law clerk for the Honorable Judge Frank Plaut in Jefferson County, District Attorney for the 18th Judicial District, and Deputy District Attorney.
One of Klingensmith’s most notable cases involved assisting a woman who was stalked by her fiancé and ultimately shot and critically injured. Thanks to her efforts, the stalker received the maximum statutory sentence of 48 years in prison.
Despite her successful career, Klingensmith has retained a strong curiosity about Korea and her biological parents, which grows more profound with each passing day. “One day, I want to go back to Korea and work on finding my biological parents,” she expressed, “I want to register my DNA and discover evidence of my roots.”
Her Korean name, Sunju Park, was derived from orphanage records, making it unclear who gave her that name.
BY NICOLE CHANG [chang.nicole@koreadaily.com]
