Obama appoints new US ambassador to PH

It’s a move that will prevent awkward encounters.

US President Barack Obama has appointed a new ambassador to the Philippines to replace Ambassador Philip Goldberg. The new US ambassador to the Philippines is Ambassador Sung Kim, a career member of the US Foreign Service.

“Kim’s appointment came after Obama called Duterte to congratulate him on his victory in a telephone call early this week,” reports Estrella Torres in Philippine Daily Inquirer.

It may be recalled that Goldberg earned the ire of incoming President Rodrigo Duterte for his criticism of the then-candidate’s comments on women during the presidential campaign.

In fact, as the report noted, “during the presidential campaign, Duterte advised Goldberg and Australian Ambassador Amanda Gorely  to ‘shut their mouths’ and not ‘interfere’ with the local elections. Gorely had also criticized Duterte’s comments about women.”

According to a write-up on US Department of State website, “Ambassador Kim was born in Seoul, Korea, and grew up in Los Angeles where he attended middle school and high school.” He got his undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania and got his law degree from Loyola University. He also holds a Master of Laws degree from the London School of Economics.



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