Sung Kim

Sung Yong Kim (; born 1960) is an American business advisor

In 2008, Kim was appointed by President George W. Bush as the U.S. Special Envoy for the six-party talks. He later served in the Obama and first Trump administrations as the Ambassador to South Korea from 2011 to 2014 and as the Ambassador to the Philippines from 2016 to 2020. In 2020, Kim was appointed by President Donald Trump as Ambassador to Indonesia. He later reprised his role as special envoy to North Korea in the Biden administration.

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 later grew up in Los Angeles and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania (BA, 1982), Loyola Law School of the Loyola Marymount University (JD, 1985), and the London School of Economics (LL.M). He also holds an honorary degree from the Catholic University of Korea.

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. However, Kim's nomination stalled after U.S. Senator 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, D.C.

In May 2014, near the end of his tenure, Kim was honored by the Asia Society for his service in Korea. Jonathan Karp, executive director of Asia Society, said Kim has done a lot to advance relations between the U.S. and Korea as a representative of the Obama administration. He was also named an honorary citizen of Seoul by Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon who said to Kim "Time flies so quickly. I must say I'm sad you have to return to your country... Even after you leave Korea for your next post, I ask of you that, as an honorary citizen of Seoul, you continue to have special interests in and affection for the city of Seoul and for Korea." In response, Kim said "It is after all my city of birth and the place I have always considered to be my second home."

Ambassador to the Philippines Kim (right) speaks with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in 2018 at the Singapore Summit. On May 19, 2016, U.S. President Obama nominated Kim to replace Philip Goldberg as the U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines. 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. Kim arrived in Manila on December 3, a month after he was sworn in, and presented his credentials to Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on December 6.

Kim, while Ambassador to the Philippines, led a delegation of American diplomats to hold talks with North Korean officials in Panmunjom in late May 2018. These talks were in regards to the upcoming summit between President Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un.

Ambassador to Indonesia

On July 10, 2019, the White House announced that he would be appointed to be Ambassador to Indonesia. On August 6, 2020, his nomination was confirmed by voice vote.

U.S. special envoy for North Korea President Joe Biden announced on May 21, 2021, that he would serve as the U.S. special envoy for North Korea. Kim retired in December 2023 to serve as an adviser for South Korean automaker Hyundai.

Foreign honors Philippines: Grand Cross (Datu) of the Order of Sikatuna (GrCS) (8 September 2020)

Personal life Kim is married to Jae Eun Chung, with whom he has two daughters. He speaks Korean and Japanese, as well as English.