Mr Lim Jim Koon graduated from Nanyang University with a BA (Hons) degree in 1973, majoring in Government and Public Administration. He was the editor of Lianhe Zaobao (LHZB), the flagship Chinese daily of the Singapore Press Holdings, until his retirement in July 2011. He has since been appointed as its Editorial Advisor.

As editor of Lianhe Zaobao, Mr Lim had overseen all aspects of its phenomenal growth and was responsible for directing its popularity in China. Known for its high standard of reporting and insight, the paper is a trusted and respected source for news and opinions in Singapore with 600,000 readers each day. It has also become an established brand name in China and the foremost Southeast Asian Chinese daily with the widest reach and greatest influence among Chinese readers around the world.

Starting his journalism career in 1977 as a translator with Sin ChewJit Poh, Lianhe Zaobao's predecessor, Mr Lim rose through the ranks as Foreign Editor, News Editor, Executive Editor and Associate Editor of LHZB, before becoming its Acting Editor in 1993 and the Chief Editor in 1995. Developing a foresight to identify trends ahead of the curve with his 30 odd years of experience, Mr Lim had given his paper an edge in two important areas.

First, Mr Lim realised the importance of new media to the business of news distribution and consumption. He founded LHZB's online presence, zaobao.com, as early as 1995. Today, with a daily pageviews of 4 to 5 million and a monthly unique audience of 10 million, Zaobao.com has become the largest Singapore website in terms of traffic and one of the top Chinese news websites in the world. Impressed by its significant influence in China, former Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew described LHZB as “a national project that deserves the best effort to be promoted”. The second area of Mr Lim's visionary contribution is his recognition of Chinese culture's growing importance and the rise of China as a superpower. From early on, he worked to promote Chinese culture and language in the belief that news outlets bear a responsibility towards the growth of their societies. By covering artistic and cultural events and organising forums and symposiums, his newspaper differentiated itself from competing news sources, eventually becoming, in the words of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, "a valuable cultural asset of Singapore”. The paper has also gained recognition as an authoritative source of news and views on China with the 2003 launch of its "Zaobao China" section.

Mr Lim's expertise earned him nominations to various boards and academic institutions. He served on the boards of several statutory organisations, including Public Transport Council, National Arts Council, Urban Redevelopment Authority, Civil Service College, National Heritage Board, the Preservation of Monuments Board and the Political Films Consultative Committee.

His academic appointments include Advisor to the Center for World Chinese Media Studies at Peking University, Adjunct Professor in the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at NUS and Adjunct Professor at UniSIM.

Mr Lim received the Mobil Asean Journalism Awards in 1984, the Nanyang Alumni Achievement Award in 2007 and the Hsing Yun Journalism Award in 2010.