Shin had a total of four children from three marriages. His first wife, Noh Soon-hwa, died in 1951. They have one daughter, Shin Young-ja (born 1942). Shin then married a Japanese woman, Hatsuko Shigemitsu, in 1952. They have two sons, Shin Dong-joo (born 1954) and Shin Dong-bin (born 1955). Shin is also married to Seo Mi-Kyung in South Korea under the country's common-law marriage system. They have one daughter, Shin Yu-mi (born 1983).