[6][5] Lim began attending IMO meetings as part of the South Korean delegation in 1986, participating in maritime safety and environmental protection issues.

[8][9][10] One of his first external events as Secretary-General in 2016 was to deliver the keynote speech at an e-Navigation conference onboard the MS Pearl Seaways in Copenhagen, Denmark.

[13] In May 2018, he gave an interview on the 70th anniversary of the lMO's foundation and highlighted the three top challenges of the future for the IMO as being climate change, digitization and seafarer issues.

[18] In February 2021, he asserted that piracy in the Gulf of Guinea presented a "serious and immediate threat" to crews and vessels operating in West African waters.

[20] In July 2022, Lim visited the Black Sea to see ships and seafarers in the IMO humanitarian corridor, related to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

[21] In August 2022, Lim visited the ports of Odesa and Constanta as part of IMO efforts relating to the Black Sea Grain Initiative.

[27] Lim has said that some of his mentors have included Joseph Angelo (an American colleague and IMO delegate), William A. O'Neil and Efthimios Mitropoulos.