Born in Chesapeake, Virginia, Kim spent a large portion of his youth in southern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina. Following graduation from Great Bridge High school, Kim attended Virginia Tech and graduated with a degree in Urban Planning and Management.  His early appraisal career started in the city tax assessor offices of Portsmouth and Chesapeake, VA  and led him to work with the appraisal firms of David F. Vermilya and Associates and Franklyn L. Stanfield and Associates in later years prior to the formation of TA & C in the late 1990's. During his career he earned the SRA designation from The Appraisal Institute and the RES designation from The International Association of Assessing Officers, and has served in various leadership roles, on local, regional, and national levels. Kim holds appraisal certifications in the states of North Carolina and Virginia, and is qualified as an expert witness in the local and state courts of North Carolina and Virginia as well as the federal court system.