KEI Contributor

Ambassador Sung Kim became the U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Indonesia in October 2020.  In May 2021 President Biden named Ambassador Kim to serve concurrently as U.S. Special Representative for the DPRK.  He also served as acting Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs January-June 2021.

Earlier, Ambassador Kim served as Ambassador to the Republic of Korea (2011-2014), Ambassador to the Republic of the Philippines (2016-2020), and in between the two ambassadorships, Special Representative for North Korea Policy in Washington.  Prior to joining the diplomatic service, he worked as a prosecutor in Los Angeles, California.

Ambassador Kim was born in Seoul, Korea, and grew up in Los Angeles. He studied at University of Pennsylvania (BA), Loyola University (JD), and London School of Economics (LLM), and has received honorary doctorates from the Catholic University of Korea and the Holy Name University of the Philippines. Ambassador Kim is married and has two daughters.