Kim Chae-yeon medaled at the World Championships after practicing figure skating for only 7 years, a rare feat in the history of the sport.

She placed second in both the short program and the free skate to finish second overall between American skater Isabeau Levito and Canadian Kaiya Ruiter.

She placed third in the short program and second in the free skate, setting new personal bests in both segments of competition, as well as overall, to win the silver medal between compatriot Kim Ye-lim and Georgian skater Anastasiia Gubanova.

After winning the short program in Egna, she took the silver medal behind Japan's Hana Yoshida, in the process qualifying for the 2022–23 Junior Grand Prix Final.

[13] Competing at the 2023 Four Continents Championships in Colorado Springs, Kim placed third in the short program with a new personal best score of 71.39, winning a bronze small medal.

[14][15] Fifth in the free skate with errors on both her triple flip attempts, she dropped to fourth place overall, 2.59 points behind bronze medalist Chiba.

[16][17] At the 2023 World Championships in Saitama, Kim finished twelfth in the short program after stepping out of her opening triple Lutz, missing the intended triple-triple combination.

[1] She was invited to make her senior Grand Prix debut, appearing first at the 2023 Skate Canada International, where she was the youngest of the twelve women competing.

"[24] Finishing the season at the 2024 World Championships, held in Montreal, Kim was sixth in the short program after receiving an incorrect edge call on a triple flip and an underrotation on the back end of her jump combination.

[27][28] Going on to compete on the 2024–25 ISU Challenger Series, Kim took the gold medal at the 2024 CS Trophée Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur.

[31] In late November, Kim competed at the annual South Korean Ranking Competition, where she won the gold medal.

[32] One month later, Kim won the gold medal at the 2025 South Korean Championships, defeating two-time and defending national champion, Shin Ji-a.

[33] CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix Small medals for short and free programs awarded only at ISU Championships.