[7] In 1991, Kim won the Grand Prize in the National College Comedy Contest, making his official debut in the South Korean entertainment industry.
[25] In March 2013, Kim was investigated for illegally gambling more than 1,000,000,000 KRW (approximately $900,000 USD) online on sports websites, under his manager's bank account.
This could be described as the start of the investigations into other South Korean celebrities such as Tak Jae-hoon and Lee Soo-geun, who, along with Kim, were reportedly encouraged to gamble by an individual from their football club.
Kim chose to leave the television programs he regularly took part in, including Vitamin, giving himself time to reflect.
[28] Kim, among other South Korean celebrities such as Kim Won-hee and Song Eun-i, is a part of a volunteer group called God is Love Ministry (GIL Ministry), who raise money to provide medical sponsorships for Haitian children with congenital heart disease to travel to South Korea to be medically treated.