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Sung Y. Kim

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Sung Kim
United States Ambassador to the Philippines
Assumed office
4 November 2016
PresidentBarack Obama
Preceded byPhilip Goldberg
United States Special Representative for North Korea Policy
In office
November 6, 2014 – September 2016
PresidentBarack Obama
Preceded byStephen Bosworth
Succeeded byvacant
United States Ambassador to South Korea
In office
November 25, 2011 – October 24, 2014
PresidentBarack Obama
Preceded byKathleen Stephens
Succeeded byMark Lippert
United States Special Envoy for the Six-Party Talks
In office
July 31, 2008 – October 13, 2011
PresidentGeorge W. Bush
Barack Obama
Preceded byCameron Munter
Succeeded byClifford Hart
Personal details
Born1960 (age 63–64)[1]
Seoul, South Korea
SpouseJae Eun Chung
Children2
Alma materUniversity of Pennsylvania
Loyola Marymount University
London School of Economics

Sung Y. Kim (born 1960)[1] is a Korean-born U.S. diplomat and the current United States Ambassador to the Philippines as well as the former United States Special Representative for North Korea Policy.[2] He previously served as the United States Ambassador to South Korea and the U.S. Special Envoy for the Six-Party Talks.

Early life and education

Sung Kim was born in Seoul, South Korea in 1960 to a South Korean diplomat and moved to the United States in 1973 following his father's posting in Tokyo.[3] Kim grew up in Los Angeles and is a graduate of University of Pennsylvania (BA), Loyola Law School (JD), and the London School of Economics (LL.M). He also holds an honorary degree from the Catholic University of Korea.[4]

Professional career

Before joining the United States Foreign Service at the State Department, Kim worked as public prosecutor at the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office.

He then worked as Staff Assistant in the Bureau of East Asia and Pacific Affairs in Washington, D.C.. Kim was then assigned to United States Embassy in Seoul and worked as the Chief of Political Military Affairs. He then served as a Political Officer in Tokyo, Japan. His other assignments were to Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong. Back in Washington, he was appointed Director of the Office of Korean Affairs and served in the position from August 2006 to July 2008. On July 31, 2008 he was appointed Special Envoy for the Six-Party talks and accorded the rank of an ambassador after confirmation of nomination by the U.S. Senate.[2]

United States Ambassadorship

Ambassador to South Korea

On June 24, 2011, President Obama nominated Kim to be the U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Korea.[5] However, Kim's nomination stalled after U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl placed a hold[6] on Kim's nomination over concerns not with Kim but with U.S. policy toward North Korea. On October 13, 2011 Kyl lifted his hold on Kim's nomination and the Senate confirmed Kim by unanimous consent.[7][8]

Kim completed his assignment to South Korea in late October 2014 and returned to the United States, where he was expected to continue to work on diplomacy involving East Asia. Mark Lippert was sworn in to succeed Kim as ambassador on October 24, 2014, in Washington.

Ambassador to the Philippines

On May 19, 2016, President Obama nominated Kim to replace Philip Goldberg as the U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines.[9] He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on September 28, 2016 and was sworn in by Secretary of State John Kerry at the Department of State on Thursday, November 3, 2016.[10] Kim arrived in Manila on December 3, a month after he was sworn in.[11]

Personal life

Kim is married to Jae Eun Chung, with whom he has two daughters.[4]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "(Sung Y. Kim (1960-)". U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
  2. ^ a b "Sung Kim". U.S. Department of State. November 6, 2014. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
  3. ^ http://goldsea.com/Text/index.php?id=11094
  4. ^ a b "Ambassador-Designate Sung Kim". Embassy of the United States, Manila. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
  5. ^ "President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts". =White House Press Release. 2011-06-24. Retrieved 2011-10-13.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  6. ^ "U.S., South Korean presidents hail trade deal". CNN. 2011-10-13. Retrieved 2011-10-13.
  7. ^ "Today's Senate Floor Log". US Senate. 2011-10-13. Retrieved 2011-10-13.
  8. ^ Josh Rogin (2011-10-13). "U.S. Ambassador to South Korea finally confirmed". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 2011-10-13.
  9. ^ "U.S. President Obama nominates Sung Kim as ambassador to Philippines". CNN Philippines. May 20, 2016. Retrieved May 20, 2016.
  10. ^ Esguerra, Anthony (November 3, 2016). "Korean-born Sung Kim sworn in as US envoy to the Philippines". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved November 4, 2016.
  11. ^ Esguerra, Anthony (December 1, 2016). "New US envoy Sung Kim arrives in Manila". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sung Kim.
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by United States Special Envoy for the Six-Party Talks
2008–2011 		Succeeded by
Preceded by United States Ambassador to South Korea
2011–2014 		Succeeded by
Preceded by United States Special Envoy for North Korea Policy
2014–2016 		Vacant
Preceded by United States Ambassador to the Philippines
2016–present 		Incumbent
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