President Kim graduated from Seoul National University with a major in law (LL.B.) and also received his Master of Law degree (LL.M.) from the University of Cambridge. He joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) in 1983. His former positions include as Director of the Emerging Markets Division, Counsellor of the ROK Embassy in Russian Federation and in the United Kingdom, Director of the Trade Dispute Settlement Division, Deputy Director-General for the FTA Policy Bureau, Director-General for Multilateral Trade. In 2011, he served as Minister of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in the USA and as Consul-General at the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in New York from 2015 to 2017. In 2007, he was appointed as head of the task force for hosting the Expo 2012 Yeosu. He received the Service Merit Medal in 2008, and Order of Service Merit (red Stripes Medal) in 2018.