He improved to eighth place at the following edition – the 2003 Daegu Universiade – and scored a personal best of 7675 points.

[6] Following a national performance of 7774 points, he attended the 2007 Asian Athletics Championships but failed to match his home form, finishing in fifth place.

[7] The 2007 World Championships in Athletics held in Osaka saw Kim make his debut on the global stage.

In spite of his low finishing place, he was the fastest athlete in the field in the final 1500 metres event.

While the 2006 champion Karpov defended his title, Kim managed a score of 7808 points to secure the silver medal – the first time a Korean had achieved the feat in the Asian Games decathlon.