[3] Kim was first elected to the National Assembly representing the Nam District of Busan in 1996 as a member of the then-ruling New Korea Party.

He was subsequently elected three more times from the same district and in 2008 was forced to run as an independent after losing renomination from his own party.

He ran as the Saenuri Party candidate in a by-election held in Yeongdo District, Busan, and won his fifth term in the National Assembly in 2013.

Kim faced criticism for comparing the skin color of a black Nigerian student to that of charcoal briquettes.

This prompted him to be featured on international media outlets, as well as criticized by some as looking elitist and condescending.