He was a Buddhist monk with the full confidence of King Gongmin, and who tried to reform the society of Goryeo.
The king judged Sin Ton cleverness; in 1365, him gave him the art name Cheonghan Geosa (청한거사; 淸閑居士) and the noble title of Marquis Jinpyeong (진평후; 真平侯).
Sin Ton appointed a group of new high-level officials from the Sinjin faction of the scholar-officials and drove out some people who had acquired too much power.
He also promoted the setting up of the Jeonmin Byeonjeong Dogam (전민변정도감; 田民辨整都監), a government office to reform the land in 1366; thus, he was met with the opposition of the powerful old aristocratic families.
[citation needed] King Gongmin's attempt to regain the leadership of the state through the introduction of Sin Ton had achieved some success.