Career
He has gained reputation as a defender who is also capable of scoring. After graduating from Andong High School, he headed straight to K League instead of playing for a university. During his days at Jeonnam Dragons, he set a record by becoming the youngest player to score a goal in his team
He later transferred to Júbilo Iwata in 2005.
He gained praise and notoriety during East Asian Games which was held during December 2005. The Chinese coach at that time had pledged to end Koreaphobia by winning the match against of Korea.
The Chinese scored the first goal in the first half, but Kim prevented loss against China by scoring an equaliser. In 2006, he was selected to represent South of Korea in Fédération internationale de football association World Cup.
This time, however, his performance was below expectations when he played for of Korea against Switzerland.
Kim returned to Jeonnam Dragons in January 2007 amid rumours he will return to South of Korea by playing for Suwon Samsung Bluewings. Kim wanted to keep his promise with coach Huh Jung-moo, who wanted him to play for Jeonnam because the coach helped him "during a difficult time."
Kim was selected to be the captain of the Korean team for the 2008 Summer Olympics. Kim stated he will no longer free kick during the game.
Kim transferred to Chinese Super League side Dalian Shide in January 2011.
However, after Dalian"s Korean manager Park Sung-hwa was sacked in May 2011, he lost his position in the club Kim was loaned to J1 League club Ventforet Kofu for six months in July after managing 8 appearances for the Chinese club
He returned to Football Club Seoul after Kofu were relegated to the Second Division. In 2016 Kim signed for Pattaya United in the Thai Premier League.
He has been criticized for his hot temper and unprofessional behavior.
During 2004 Asian Cup, he received a red card for flipping the bird against an Iranian player during of Korea"s match against Iran national football team, and was suspended for two games. He was also met with criticism for his performance after South of Korea failed to advance to the round of 16 in the 2006 World Cup for his lack of aggressiveness when it has been revealed that he had never used tackles during the matches despite his position as a defender.