Bae Myeong-in, former Minister of Justice who led the founding of BAE, KIM & LEE LLC and previously served as Minister of Justice and director of the Agency for National Security Planning, died of a chronic illness at 11:18 p.m. on the 6th. He was 94.
Born in 1932 in Jinhae, South Gyeongsang, the deceased graduated from Jinhae High School and the Seoul National University law school, then passed the 8th higher civil service examination (judicial track) in 1957. Starting as a prosecutor at the Seoul District Prosecutors' Office, Bae served as head of the Seoul Northern District Prosecutors' Office, chief prosecutor of the Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office, director of the Criminal Affairs Bureau at the Ministry of Justice, deputy prosecutor general at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, and chief prosecutor of the Gwangju High Prosecutors' Office, before serving as the 33rd Minister of Justice from 1982 to 1985. In 1988, Bae became director of the Agency for National Security Planning.
Bae, the former Minister, helped usher in the era of large domestic law firms by founding Taepyungyang Joint Law Office in 1986 with attorneys Kim In-seop and Lee Jeong-hoon. The English name "BKL" also comes from the three partners' family names. The office changed its name to BAE, KIM & LEE LLC in 1995 and has since grown into one of Korea's leading law firms.
Outside the legal community, the deceased was active as chair of the Bae clan association, president of the Jinhae Middle and High School alumni association, president of the Seoul National University law alumni association, and chair of the Dongmyung Cultural Foundation.
Survivors include his wife, Kang Ae-ja, and three children, Bae Mun-gyeong, Bae Eun-gyeong, and Bae Ik-jun. The wake is at Room 14 of the funeral hall at Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, and the funeral is at 10 a.m. on the 9th.