"[2] Shin was born in Japanese-occupied Korea but grew up in Manchuria and served with the Manchukuo Imperial Army during the 1930s.

He joined the South Korean coast guard, the predecessor of the Republic of Korea Navy, as a lieutenant in 1946, during the U.S. military transitional period.

Following the failed amphibious assault during the Yosu Rebellion, Admiral Son Won-il tasked Shin with creating a ground combat unit (陸戦隊) within the Navy.

He served as South Korea's first ambassador to the Kingdom of Morocco, with additional accreditation to Liberia.

He died on October 14, 2007,[7] in Niceville, Florida and was buried at the Daejeon National Cemetery in South Korea.