Participant Biographies

Sung Kim

Sung Kim

Special Representative for the DPRK; U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Indonesia, U.S. Department of State
Session 4 - "The Korean Peninsula and North Korea"

Ambassador Sung Kim is the U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Indonesia. 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 the University of Pennsylvania (Bachelor of Arts), Loyola University (Juris Doctor), and London School of Economics (Master of Laws), and has received honorary doctorates from the Catholic University of Korea and the Holy Name University of the Philippines.