Shin has an unorthodox style of sidearm delivery with a low-to-mid-90s fastball and a hard slider with extreme downward movement.
Shin attended Bugil High School in Cheonan, Chungcheongnam-do.
Upon graduation from high school in 2006, he entered Korea University in Seoul.
His best collegiate season came in 2009, which he finished with a 6–2 record, a 1.32 ERA and three saves as a starter and closer, and was named MVP of the national championship tournament.
On July 28, 2019, he and Song Eun-beom, then a member of the LG Twins, moved through a 1:1 trade.