Sangmin Shim is an Assistant Professor and Head of the Center for International Law at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy (KNDA). Before joining KNDA in 2016, he was a visiting scholar at the Environmental Law Institute (ELI), a private think tank that researches international environmental law. During his stint at the ELI, Professor Shim engaged in numerous collaborative research projects, including mainstreaming climate adaptation governance, natural resource management governance from the perspective of sustainable development, and environmental peacebuilding in post-conflict contexts.
Professor Shim writes widely on climate change issues, with a focus on designing economically viable, technologically feasible, and politically acceptable policy tools and strategies with significant emission reduction potentials. His academic work also covers peace and security in the United Nations, the law of the sea, non-proliferation, human rights in North Korea and transitional justice, sustainable development, human security, and energy security. He regularly advises officials at the Bureau of International Legal Affairs in the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs on newly emerging international legal topics.
Professor Shim’s legal educational background includes a J.S.D. degree at Stanford University. He also holds a J.S.M. degree from the same university and is a graduate of Seoul National University (B.A. & M.A. in law).