He spent much of his early life in exile in China alongside his father, older brother Kim In [ko], and grandmother Kwak Nak-won.
There, he participated in the Korean independence movement; for these activities he was eventually awarded the Order of Merit for National Foundation, grade 5 in 1990.
In his later life, he worked on the National Conference for Unification chaired the Independence Hall of Korea, and led the Association of Commemorative Services for Patriot Kim Koo.
His father was a prominent member of the Korean Provisional Government (KPG) and seen as a leader in the independence movement.
Afterwards, he and his paternal grandmother Kwak Nak-won left Kim Ku in China, and returned to the family's native Hwanghae Province in Korea.
Kim was in the midst of his training in Lahore, and wished to immediately return to the Korean peninsula with his father.
[6] There, he joined the South Korean Constabulary of Police Reserve [ko] and participated in the Republic of Korea Army Aviation Command (대한민국 육군 항공대).
[2][7] There, he shook hands with Kim Il Sung, who reportedly said to him: "Comrade, good work in taking care of your father's journey here".
[7] On June 26, 1950, a day after the outbreak of the Korean War, Kim and other executives in the ROKAF went over to Japan in order to facilitate the acquisition of F-51 Mustang jets from the United States Air Force.
[3] During the war, Kim served as the leader of the 10th Fighter Wing (제10전투비행전) and as the Director of Operations (작전국장) in the Republic of Korea Air Force Headquarters [ko].
[3] During his tenure, the May 16 coup occurred, in which Park Chung Hee seized power and established a military dictatorship.
[3][4] In 1988, he retired from public roles and became honorary chairman of the Association of Commemorative Services for Patriot Kim Koo (백범김구선생사업협회).
[2] In this role, it was reported that by 2019, Kim Shin oversaw the distribution of around ₩42 billion ($36,000,000) to various organizations in order to promote Korea–US ties and publicize information about the Korean independence movement.
[8] After diplomatic relations were established between South Korea in China in 1986, Kim visited the Chinese mainland for the first time in 40 years.
In 1990, he organized and participated in a ceremony at the Beijing Great Hall of the People that honored a Chinese translation of his father's autobiography, the Baekbeomilji.
[6] In late 2013, he published his memoirs, entitled To Fly Korea's Skies (조국의 하늘을 날다; 2013).
[5][2] He had five children, including Kim Yang [ko], who worked as Korean Consulate General in Shanghai in 2005 and as the Minister of Patriots and Veteran Affairs of Korea.