Kim was born on January 15, 1939.[1] He studied geology, receiving a bachelor of science in 1961, and a master's and a doctorate by 1971 from Seoul National University. He then studied mineralogy as a Humboldt Research Fellow at the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg in 1972, achieving a doctorate in mineralogy in 1974.[2][3][4]
In 1968, Kim Soo-jin became the first full-time professor of mineralogy of Seoul National University's Department of Geology. In 1975, Kim discovered a new mineral, Janggunite.[3] In 1986, he became the first president of the Mineralogical Society of Korea, and served two more terms as its second and third president until 1992.[5] On July 8, 1994, he became the youngest elected member of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Korea. He was made professor emeritus in 2004.[2]
Kim Soo-jin died on January 10, 2025, at the age of 85.[6]
