Way back in the day, my first car, a 1989 Mazda 323, was fuel injected with an idle speed control system. It would idle after cold starts in the low 2000s for RPM-- I know, because I put an aftermarket tach in. The more it dipped below freezing, the higher the high idle could be. I personally witnessed it hit 3500 on a -15'F night. It would hit 2k after starting but work its way higher after a minute or two. Heck, maybe the idle air bypass was wide open but thick oil was holding it back until it warmed up.
Anyway, I thought it was bad for the car, so I got interested in motor oil, and ran M1 5w30 in it, circa 1997.
Just throwing it out there, there are cars out there that do this, presumably as a crutch to warm the cat up within an allowable amount of time.
OP should wonder what in Kia's logic would have them doing that. I like the bad battery idea and it never hurts to go on a little patrol cleaning grounds and other connections.