Consul General Dr. Sangmin Nam

Dr. Nam currently serves as the Consul General of the Republic of Korea in Honolulu, Hawaii. Prior to his current role, he served for 21 years at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and thePacific (UNESCAP), including as Director of the Environment and Development Division (2022–June 2026), Deputy Head of the East and North-East Asia Office (2013–2022), and Environmental Affairs Officer (2005–2013). He also co-chaired the UN Issue-based Coalition on Raising Ambition on Climate Action in Asia and the Pacific (2023–2026) and led UNESCAP’s strategic foresight work(2024–2026).

Before joining the United Nations, Dr. Nam built a diverse professional career in academia, government advisory bodies, civil society, and journalism. From 2003 to 2005, he taught at Hanyang University in Seoul while also serving as an expert member of the Presidential Commission on Sustainable Development and the Presidential Commission on the Northeast Asian Cooperation Initiative of the Republic of Korea. He was also actively involved with an environmental NGO, Green Korea United, where he played a founding role and served as Program and Policy Manager from 1993 to 1998. In addition, he worked as an overseas correspondent for the Korean Sisa newsmagazine from 1998 to 2002.

He has held research positions as a visiting researcher at Chulalongkorn University, the Australian National University, and the University of Washington. He holds a PhD in international environmental governance from the University of Melbourne, Australia.

His co-authored books include State of the Korean Environment (2000), Eco-efficiency: A Practical Path to Sustainable Development (2007), Regional Perspectives on Sustainable Development (2014), Race to Net Zero: Accelerating Climate Action in Asia and the Pacific (2023), and Urban Transformation in Asia and the Pacific: From Growth to Resilience (2025). He contributed chapters to International Environmental Cooperation: Diplomacy and Politics in Asia-Pacific (2003), A New View of Korean Society (2005), and Modernization and Water in North-East Asia(2007). He also led the development of the annual report Review of Climate Ambition in Asia and the Pacific from 2022 to 2025.

Family: Married with one daughter