Dr. Kim was a little refugee from North Korea, who at two escaped on his mother’s back across the mountains into South Korea. At 20, he came to the U.S. for undergraduate studies at Rochester where he obtained a B.S. degree. He continued his studies at Cornell, where he received an MBA with a concentration in operations research. Kim obtained his doctorate in finance from SUNY/Buffalo. In 1975, he embarked on his academic career as an Assistant Professor of Finance at Ohio State University. A promotion to Associate Professor with tenure followed in 1978. In 1980, Kim moved to the University of Michigan, where he directs the Mitsui Life Financial Research Center and the East Asia Management Development Center. His current research activity is concentrated on corporate governance, labor issues, higher education, and mergers and acquisitions. He is one of the most frequently cited contributors to the field of financial economics, has published over 60 scholarly works, and has served on editorial boards of numerous academic journals, including associate editor of The Journal of Finance. Dr. Kim also has participated in various consulting projects with private and public institutions. One of his most memorable experiences occurred in January, 1998, when Korea was in the midst of the financial crisis. He served as the advisor to the Korean government’s team to renegotiate its foreign debt obligations with international bankers. Kim also has served on several boards of directors, starting with Mutual Savings Bank in Michigan (89-90), Hana Bank (01-03), Korea Investment Company (05-07), and POSCO (03-08), where he was the non-executive chairman of the board (07-08).
