In December 2001, he became the youngest winner of the Premier Grand Prix in the history of the Marguerite Long-Jacques Thibaud International Piano Competition in Paris and also five other special awards.
[3][4] Lim created controversy in 2003 upon his refusal of his third prize placement in the Queen Elisabeth Music Competition in Brussels, stating that the judging wasn't fair.
[5] The third place prize was consequently 'unawarded' for the first time since the establishment of the competition in 1938, and Lim's name and placement is missing from the laureates' page on the official web site.
[7] He then placed fourth with fellow contestant Sergei Sobolev in the 13th International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in June 2007, where no first prize was awarded.
He played Ravel's Pavane for a Dead Princess in her honor at his recital at the Seoul Arts Center in February, 2010.