Former US envoy Sung Kim appointed acting Assistant Secretary of State

Washington's former Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim was appointed acting Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, a senior position in the US State Department.

Three days after his appointment on Jan. 20, Kim met with Philippine Ambassador to Washington Jose Manuel Romualdez on Jan. 23.

"The two officials had developed a good working relationship and had become close friends when Acting A/S Kim was US Ambassador to the Philippines," a press statement released by the Philippine embassy said Sunday.

It was not known if Kim will be formally nominated as Assistant Secretary of State — a post vacated by David Stilwell, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump.

Kim, the first Asian-American envoy appointed by Washington to the Philippines, served as America's top diplomat from 2016 to 2020.

He faced the daunting task of improving ties with its Asian ally amid President Rodrigo Duterte's anti-American tirades after Washington criticized his bloody crackdown on illegal drugs that left thousands dead, casting uncertainties on the future alliance between the two allies. Under his watch, Philippines-US ties improved.

Kim, who was posted in Jakarta, Indonesia after a four-year stint in the Philippines in 2020, earlier said that Manila and Washington’s ties have always been “most enduring” and “special.”  

Born in 1960 in Seoul, South Korea, Kim grew up in Los Angeles where he attended middle school and high school.

He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania and completed a degree in law from Loyola University.

Kim also holds a Master of Laws degree from the London School of Economics.

He served as Special Representative for North Korea Policy and Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of East Asia and Pacific Affairs at the Department of State.

Kim also served as US Ambassador to the Republic of Korea from 2011 to 2014, Special Envoy for the Six Party Talks with the rank of Ambassador from 2008 to 2011, and Director of the Office of Korean Affairs in the Bureau of East Asia and Pacific Affairs from 2006 to 2008.

Before joining the Foreign Service, he was a Deputy District Attorney. —KG, GMA News