James Kim: A Good Son and a Great Businessman

James Kim was an Asian-American businessman who founded the electronics company Amkor Technology. He was a former economics professor who quit his teaching career in 1968 to help his father’s struggling electronics firm, Anam Electronics of Korea. After establishing Amkor, Kim continued to help his father by acting as Anam’s agent in the US.

During the early goings of Amkor, Agnes, James’ wife had to help him by selling calculators and transistor radios in a mall in King of Prussia Pennsylvania in 1977. After more than twenty years Kim’s fortune has grown in a dramatic fashion. In 1998 Amkor has become the world’s leading independent fabricator of chips and ICs for companies like Motorola, Toshiba, Texas Instruments and Philips.

1998 was a year of slump in the semiconductor packaging industry but Amkor has managed to increase its earnings by 10%, or $1.6 billion. The success of Amkor has contributed to the stability of Anam. Amkor had its IPO in May 1998, in which the company has raised $450 million. Kim had to travel from Seoul, taking care of Anam, to West Chester, Pennsylvania to take care of Amkor Technology.