[1] During his tenure, Kim was a strong proponent of regional development, historical preservation and new paradigms of local and decentralized government.

Kim was born in what is now North Jeolla Province's Wanju County in May 1946.

He received a Bachelor's in Political Science from Seoul National University (SNU) in 1970 and graduated from SNU's Graduate School of Public Administration in 1963.

In 1987, he received a Master's in Urban Planning from the University of Pennsylvania in the U.S. Kim is a member of the Gwangsan Kim clan.

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