Kim first garnered attention when he participated in the short-track demonstration event at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, winning the gold medal in the 1500 metres. In 2002, Kim was appointed as a coach of the Korean national short track speed skating team He participated in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver as the head coach of the South Korean national team
Kim is currently serving as a full professor at Ulsan College.
Kim is a three-time Olympic Champion and 1992 Overall World Champion. Kim swept all the gold medals available in short track speed skating at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, winning won the gold medal in the 1000 metres in a world record time of 1:30.76, and claiming another gold in the 5000 metre relay in a world record time of 7:14.02. Kim went on to win his first world overall champion at the 1992 World Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Denver. At the championships, Kim captured all five individual gold medals (overall, 500 m, 1000 m, 1500 m, 3000 m), which made him become the second skater to sweep all five individual world championship gold medals available(Canada"s Sylvie Daigle first achieved the feat at the 1983 World Championships), and the first male one.
Kim Kihoon defended his gold medal at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, winning the 1000 metres with a time of 1:34.57.
