South Korean Kim Young-hoon has been recognized as the individual with the highest IQ in history, scoring an impressive 276 at the World Memory Championships. The announcement was made by the competition’s organizer, the World Mind Sports Council, on Thursday.

“The World Mind Sports Council hereby recognizes Young-hoon Kim from South Korea as the person with the highest IQ in the world and congratulates him,” stated the event organizer.

Previously, the title of the highest IQ holder belonged to Chinese-Australian professor Terence Tao, who has an IQ of 230.

Following the announcement, Kim expressed his aspirations: “I want to research and help improve people’s brainpower around the world using my talents in the future.”

At 35 years old, Kim is a graduate of Yonsei University in Seoul and the only Korean member of both the Mega Society and the Giga Society, exclusive organizations that accept members with exceptionally high IQs.

The World Memory Championships is an international event where pre-selected highly intelligent individuals compete in a tournament-style competition to determine the final winner. Throughout the competition, participants’ IQs are comprehensively evaluated.

Kim is also the founder of the United Sigma Intelligence Association, a non-profit organization comprising over 100 highly intelligent individuals from around the globe, including professors from prestigious universities such as Harvard, Yale, and Princeton.

The World Mind Sports Council, a global organization founded by mind mapping creator Tony Buzan, operates world-class brain championships, including the World Memory Championships, the World Speed Reading Championships, and the World Mind Mapping Championships.

By Impact Lab