Is YoungHoon Kim the “world’s smartest man” and a Christian?

God grants each of us, his image bearers, natural gifts to steward. When we follow Jesus as Lord, we submit those varied blessings, like intelligence, money, influence, public speaking, and charisma, to him. The Holy Spirit empowers us to produce works, or fruit, for God’s glory. 

Whenever an influential figure proclaims Christ as Lord, it can gain traction among Christians, especially on social media. Many will feel relieved and overjoyed to see Christ proclaimed in the culture, especially by talented, gifted individuals. We ought to praise God for these authentic testimonies.

YoungHoon Kim proclaims Christ as Lord and presents the gospel frequently on social media. He claims to hold the highest known IQ, a staggering 276. So, when the putative smartest man alive takes to social media to proclaim Jesus as Lord and give him glory, shouldn’t we rejoice? 

Is YoungHoon Kim, the “Highest IQ” Person, a Christian? 

YoungHoon Kim, a South Korean influencer and apparent AI researcher, has recently gained popularity for his Christian faith. He routinely makes short videos and posts with simple apologetic statements and proclamations of the gospel. In addition to faith, YoungHoon Kim espouses political conservatism, support for Donald Trump, and other figures like Elon Musk. 

As with any noteworthy figure, we should be careful to endorse their faith. As Parker Jones writes in “How to respond when influential figures convert to Christ,” 

1. “Recognize that Christians do not need a ‘cultural’ advocate, since the church primarily expands through personal evangelism and the discipling of the next generation of children in the church.”
2. “Research extensively. It is always great news to learn of any individual coming to know the Lord. . . . Immediate skepticism is generally unfair, but rapid embrace is generally unwise.”
3. “Petition the Lord in prayer for each of these figures.”

By and large, Kim’s affirmation of Gospel truths seems accurate and biblical—although he recently predicted the second coming of Christ as falling on the year 2060 (or “within this generation”) according to his “calculations.” Aside from this dubious claim, his posts usually proclaim the gospel in plain, biblical terms. 

So, he affirms the truths of the gospel. Praise God! However, there’s more to being a Christian than saying the right things. 

And while we should not be quick to judge Kim’s heart, let’s also put away naivety, practicing the wisdom exemplified by Christ (Matthew 11:19, 10:16).

Does YoungHoon Kim have a 276 IQ? 

The internet doesn’t filter much. At The Denison Forum, we often encourage readers to watch out, to protect themselves from false teachers and foolish people who take the name of Christ and use it for their own ends. Online, folks can say almost whatever they please; social media does not vet people like traditional publishers, newspapers, and magazines once did. 

YoungHoon Kim claims to have his IQ “certified” by various organizations. He lists them extensively and constantly. I’ll consider a few of them here and discuss their flaws. 

Kim claims membership in the GIGA society, where only one in a billion intelligences can become a member (top 0.00000001 percent IQ). Unfortunately, the website he links to, GIGA.net, is not the real society. 

Instead, Kim links to a counterfeit website, which he presumably set up himself. He calls the false organization “GIGA Society Professional,” whereas GIGA.com represents the original society. 

The original site founder confirmed to me in an email that Kim’s site is “fraudulent.” Proof of this is provided on GIGA society’s original website.

There’s much more. 

• Kim claims to be vetted by the USIA (United Sigma Intelligence Association). He is both the founder and president of this organization. One academic called it a “reputational Ponzi scheme.” 
• Kim’s doctorate (he sometimes goes by Dr., but normally “professor”) is an honorary doctorate in cognitive science from American Management University—meaning he has not completed a PhD program. 
• Kim was given an “honorary” award by the World Memory Championships and World Memory Sports Council, which appears to be true. However, he claimed on TV to be a world memory champion, which he never was. 
• Kim claims that CNN, CNBC, and others have reported on his intelligence; they have not (as far as I can find). He appears on one list of high-IQ people by Reader’s Digest, but the magazine falsely uses GIGA society as its source (the fake one presumably created by Kim).
• He claims to have been a part of the Mega Society (they supposedly only take members with a 1 in a million intelligence). He says he left voluntarily. However, according to sources familiar with the event, he was expelled. 

According to Ralph Jones’s investigative work for VICE, Mensa Korea is the most authentic, unbiased, and reputable source for his high IQ. The former Mensa Korea Chairperson told Jones, “I cannot disclose [Kim’s] exact IQ score. . . . However, he does not have a special IQ score, at least within Mensa standards.”

Kim is smart, but is he 276 IQ smart? 

So, YoungHoon Kim is undoubtedly intelligent; he was inducted into Mensa Korea, a society of the top 2 percent of IQs (approximately). However, measuring extremely high IQ beyond this is already a controversial area of science. 

IQ is statistical. A score of 100, by definition, is supposed to represent perfectly average general intelligence. Generally, this means the fewer people who are studied, the less certain the result becomes. 

For this reason, the most official IQ tests don’t go above around 160 (although theoretically, there’s no upper limit). It’s also why the Guinness Book of World Records no longer has the smartest person category.

In light of all the evidence, we have good reason to be strongly suspicious of Kim having the highest IQ in the world. Given all the dubious ways he has tried to establish his intelligence (for example, the apparently counterfeit GIGA website), we should then reject his claim. Paul Cooijmans, a Dutch high-IQ expert, sums up his interactions with Kim: “My impression is that YoungHoon Kim is a megalomaniac, pathologically lying impostor.” The world of IQ attracts prideful grifters. 

Pray for YoungHoon Kim

Just because someone proclaims the name of Jesus and presents the gospel does not mean they’re walking in step with him. Kim parades his high IQ on social media while his virality is based on a dubious claim at best and an outright deception at worst. 

We could look the other way and use his fame to advance the gospel, hoping that people won’t investigate further into his apparent deception. However, “[Christian love] does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.” (1 Corinthians 13:6) I hope other believers will gently point people to the truth about Kim, for Christians should be a people marked by the truth, not deception.

Nevertheless, we should bless Kim in his faith and pray for him. We should pray for the Spirit to convict him, to repentance of (seeming) deception, pride, and the false idol of intelligence. 

I hope YoungHoon Kim, if he reads this, will not receive this exhortation as me tearing him down, but as building him up—as an encouragement: Use the gifts God has given you for his glory, not your own. Get involved in a local church and discuss these issues with your spiritual leaders and mentors. 

Kim will likely attribute any criticism to persecution for his faith or his political views. However, Peter writes, “If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler” (1 Peter 4:14, emphasis added).

Sadly, Kim’s behavior does not reflect Christlikeness. We cannot judge his heart, and he may genuinely believe he’s promoting Jesus. But to do so through grandstanding and deception is not witnessing to him well. 

As John writes, “Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth” (1 John 3:18).

All of this said, we read from Paul: “Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry. . . [and] proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely. . . . What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.” (Philippians 1:15–18)

Will you pray that YoungHoon Kim gives up the apparent charade and turns his God-given gifts to honoring Christ in a pure and truthful way? And will you take some time today to ask God’s forgiveness for any charades or half-truths in your life as well?