Kim received a gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.[2] In the group round, he ended four of his five matches by fall or technical fall, including a win over reigning Olympic champion Stelios Mygiakis of Greece by technical fall.
In 1986, Kim retired from competitive wrestling for good after losing his spot for the 1986 Asian Games to future Olympic bronze medalist An Dae-Hyun in the national trial.