Francis Kim

Associate Professor, Finance

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Dr. Francis Kim graduated from Seoul National University with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics. He joined a merchant banking corporation in Seoul, South Korea, immediately after graduating from college. For seven years, he traded foreign currencies and derivatives, invested in international bonds, and arranged overseas syndicated loans for the bank. He also managed equity and futures portfolio funds for one year at an investment bank. In 2000, he accepted a position as a financial market researcher at the Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation (KDIC). Since the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the KDIC, the equivalent of the FDIC in the United States, has played a critical role in the country's financial industry reforms. He served the corporation as a financial industry reform manager and a senior secretary to its Chairman and President.
The corporation acknowledged his efforts and enthusiasm and decided to support his study abroad.

In 2005, he started his study in the Department of Applied Economics and Management at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY and obtained his master’s degree in January 2008. He enrolled in the PhD program in finance at Louisiana State University (LSU) in 2008. He received his PhD degree in December 2011. He began teaching at Furman in the fall of 2023 after eleven years of teaching at Gardner-Webb University in North Carolina. He teaches corporate finance and international finance, and plans to teach financial markets, investments, and risk management. He also serves as a faculty advisor for the Furman Investment Club.

He was interviewed by major newspapers and appeared on national TV broadcasting companies in South Korea, including prime time news. He spoke about the financial markets as well as monetary policy. He also wrote columns for newspapers on a regular basis.

Dr. Kim enjoys skiing and cooking. He also likes to read, watch movies, and travel with his family. He enjoys conversing with others and is usually in his office during the day, unless he is teaching or out for a stroll, lunch, or meeting.

Honors & Awards

  • Research grant from ALookSo (2022). The Outlook of the U.S. Dollar and Stagflation.
  • Research grant from Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation (2021). An Analysis of Economic Impacts of the U.S. Fiscal and Monetary Policies on the COVID-19 Recession.

Education

  • Ph.D., Louisiana State University (LSU)
  • M.S., Cornell University
  • B.A., Seoul National University

Research Interests

My research focuses on capital market reactions to macroeconomic shocks, monetary policy surprises, international financial markets, the financial crisis, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and corporate risk management.

Publications

  • Kim, S. F. (2023). Currency Carry Trades, Risk Management, and Firm Value: Evidence from Korean Banking Industry. Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money 88, 1-18.
  • Kim, S. F. (2023). The Fed Signal: How Do the Fed's Flutters Become a Typhoon in Seoul? Knowledge Nomad.
  • Kim, S. F., et al. (2022). Great Economic Outlook: 2023 Economic Issues and Trend. 21st Century Books.
  • Kim, S. F. (2021). An Analysis of Economic Impacts of the U.S. Fiscal and Monetary Policies on the COVID-19 Recession and Capital Market. Financial Risk Review, 18, 77-104.
  • Kim, S. F., and Chance, D. M. (2019). An Empirical Analysis of Corporate Currency Risk Management Policies and Practices. Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, 47, 109-128.

Additional Professional Activity

  • Contributing economic columns for the Woman Economy newspaper, the Money Today newspaper, and The Columnist journal.
  • Interviewed by South Korea's number one newspaper regarding the US real estate market, as well as money supply and inflation.
  • Interviewed by SBS primetime news (top 3 TV broadcasting firm in South Korea) regarding the U.S. labor shortage, the Federal Reserve monetary policy, and the stock market collapse.

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