My research examines how financial markets shape firms’ real economic decisions. I study how information frictions, disclosure, and trading environments influence corporate investment, financing, and innovation outcomes. Using large-scale archival data and quasi-experimental research designs, I identify the causal effects of market conditions on firms’ resource allocation and long-term behaviour.

My work has been published in leading international journals including the Journal of Accounting and Economics, Research Policy, Journal of Corporate Finance, Journal of Banking & Finance, and Journal of Business Finance & Accounting. Ongoing projects extend this research agenda to institutional ownership, information leakage, and the valuation of innovative activity.

My research contributes to the literature at the intersection of capital markets and corporate finance, with a particular focus on how market frictions affect firms’ financing capacity and real economic outcomes. I maintain an active international research pipeline and collaborations, with ongoing projects targeting top-tier journals in finance and accounting.

Professor, University of Seoul (2025–present)

Associate/Assistant Professor, University of Seoul (2021–2025)

Assistant Professor, Peking University HSBC Business School (2014–2018)

Visiting Assistant Professor, Peking University HSBC Business School (2018–2021)

Assistant Professor, Renmin University of China (2012–2014)

Head, NICE Credit Bureau Research Institute

Director, NICE Information Service

Manager, Korea Development Bank – Lone Star Corporate Restructuring Company

Analyst, Samsung Investment Trust Management

Deputy Director, Ministry of Finance and Economy, Korea

[1] Hyun Joong Im*, Thomas Noe, and William Cheung, “Liquidity, Information Production, and Corporate Financing Decisions,” Journal of Business Finance and Accounting, Volume 53, Issue 1, February 2026, pp.487–524.

[2] Hyun Joong Im, Heungju Park*, Shams Pathan, and Robert Faff, “Transient Institutional Ownership, Costly External Finance, and Corporate Cash Holdings,” Journal of Business Finance and Accounting, Volume 52, Issue 2, April 2025, pp. 1212–1249.

[3] Byung-Uk Chong and Hyun Joong Im*, “The Effect of Affiliation with a Large Business Group on Trade Credit Finance: An Empirical Analysis of Chaebol Firms in Korea,” Journal of Business Finance and Accounting, Volume 51, Issue 7–8, July–August 2024, pp. 1828–1857.

[4] Jong-Bom Chay, Byung-Uk Chong, and Hyun Joong Im*, “Dividend Taxes and Investment Efficiency: Evidence from the 2003 U.S. Personal Taxation Reform,” Journal of Accounting and Economics, Volume 75, Issue 1, February 2023, Article 101514.

[5] Hyun Joong Im, Robert Faff*, and Chang Y. Ha, “Uncertainty, Investment Spikes, and Corporate Leverage Adjustments,” Journal of Banking and Finance, Volume 145, December 2022, Article 106649. 

[6] Hyun Joong Im*, Ya Kang, and Janghoon Shon, “How Does Uncertainty Influence Target Capital Structure?” Journal of Corporate Finance, Volume 64, October 2020, Article 101642.

[7] Hyun Joong Im* and Janghoon Shon, “The Effect of Technological Imitation on Corporate Innovation: Evidence from US Patent Data,” Research Policy, Volume 48, Issue 9, November 2019, Article 103802.