Sung Kim

Sung Kim
File:Ambassador Sung Kim.jpg
United States Special Representative for North Korea Policy
Incumbent
Assumed office November 6, 2014
President	Barack Obama
Preceded by	Stephen Bosworth
United States Ambassador to South Korea
In office November 25, 2011 – October 24, 2014
President	Barack Obama
Preceded by	Kathleen Stephens
Succeeded by	Mark Lippert
United States Special Envoy for the Six-Party Talks
In office July 31, 2008 – October 13, 2011
President	George W. Bush Barack Obama
Preceded by	Cameron Munter
Succeeded by	Clifford Hart
Personal details
Born	1960 (age 64–65) Seoul, South Korea
Alma mater	University of Pennsylvania Loyola Marymount University London School of Economics

Sung Y. Kim (born 1960) is a Korean-born U.S. diplomat and the current United States Special Representative for North Korea Policy. 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. Kim grew up in Los Angeles and is a graduate of University of Pennsylvania (BA), Loyola Law School (JD), London School of Economics (Master's degree).

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.

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. However, Kim's nomination stalled after U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl placed a hold 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.

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. The U.S. Senate has yet to confirm Kim's appointment.

See also

• North Korea–United States relations
• Division of Korea
• Korean War

External links

• Appearances on C-SPAN

Diplomatic posts
Preceded by Cameron Munter	United States Special Envoy for the Six-Party Talks 2008–2011	Succeeded by Clifford Hart
Preceded by Kathleen Stephens	United States Ambassador to South Korea 2011–2014	Succeeded by Mark Lippert
Preceded by Stephen Bosworth	United States Special Envoy for North Korea Policy 2014–present	Incumbent