Ambassador South Korean For Indonesia

Ambassador KIM Chang-beom arrived in Jakarta to assume his new assignment as the Ambassador–designate of the Republic of Korea to the Republic of Indonesia on February 8, 2018. Ambassador KIM has special ties and experiences with Indonesia. He previously served as Political Counsellor at the Korean Embassy in Indonesia from February 2003 until March 2005.

During his services in Jakarta, he made significant contributions to the promotion of Korea – Indonesia bilateral ties through summit meeting preparations and active participation into ASEAN events. He personally got involved in emergency reliefs and recovery endeavors right after the devastating Aceh tsunami in late 2004.

Before his appointment as the Korean Ambassador to Indonesia, Ambassador KIM worked for Seoul Metropolitan Government as Ambassador for International Relations. He made coordination of Seoul’s international exchanges and outreaches, as well as assisted the Mayor of Seoul in external relations. While working for the capital city of Seoul, he played a pivotal role in upgrading Seoul’s partnership with Jakarta and Bandung as sister cities. He led Seoul’s international outreaches to local governments in Indonesia by sharing urban solutions and taking part in urban platforms.

As a career foreign service officer, he has served five overseas posts and worked at various positions within the Korean Government ever since he joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in December 1981.

From May 2012 until April 2015, he served in Brussels as Korean Ambassador to Belgium, Luxembourg and the European Union. During his stay in Belgium, he assisted the opening of the Korean Cultural Center, as well as the Korea Innovation Center in Brussels. He also contributed to the upgrading of the Korea – EU strategic partnership during his three years’ term of assignment.

From March 2008 until April 2012, he worked as Chief of the Presidential Protocol at the Office of President Lee Myung-bak. While working for President Lee, he has accumulated extensive experiences of attending most of international conferences and summit meetings, such as G20, APEC, UN General Assembly, East Asia Summit, Nuclear Security Summit, and Asia – Europe Meeting (ASEM). He also took part in organizing and preparing multilateral conferences, including Seoul G20 Summit in 2010, and Seoul Nuclear Security Summit in 2012.

While serving in the Foreign Ministry, he worked as Director General for Peace Regime on the Korean Peninsula (2007 – 2008), Coordinator for Personnel and Innovation (2006 – 2007), and Foreign Policy Advisor to the Prime Minister (2005 – 2006).

As Director for North America Division III (2002 – 2003), he dealt with the Korea – US alliance maintenance and politico–military issues between Korea and the United States. While working as Director for Security Policy (2001), he covered regional security dialogues, such as ASEAN Regional Forum, OSCE and non–traditional security issues.

His first overseas post was the Korean Embassy in Tokyo, Japan during the period of 1987 – 1990. He served as First Secretary at the Korean Embassies in Washington DC, USA (1998 – 2001) and Islamabad, Pakistan (1993 – 1995). He was once seconded from the Foreign Ministry to the Office of the President as assistant to the National Security Advisor during the period of 1995 – 1998.

He earned a Master’s degree from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, DC, USA (1986) and is a distinguished graduate of Seoul National University (B.A., 1982).

Born in 1960, in Seoul, Korea, he has a wife and two sons.