Literary Magazine Chairman Im Hong-bin Passes Away at Age 93

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo Mideum] Im Hongbin, chairman of Munhak Sasang Co., Ltd., passed away on the morning of the 2nd due to an illness. He was 93 years old.

Born in 1930 in Geumsan, Chungnam, Chairman Im graduated from Seoul National University College of Law in 1956 and worked as a reporter for Segye Ilbo, Minguk Ilbo, and Hapdong News until 1962. From 1962 to 1971, he served as the head of the Public Relations and Research Institute at the Ministry of Culture and Public Information, and he also held positions as editorial director of Kyunghyang Shinmun and research fellow at the Political Economy Research Institute.

In 1985, he acquired the monthly literary magazine Munhak Sasang and significantly developed the Yi Sang Literary Award, Sowol Poetry Award, and Kim Hwan-tae Criticism Literary Award. He served as secretary of the Social Reform Subcommittee of the Democratic Reconciliation Promotion Committee in 1988, director of the Korean Broadcasting System and advisory member of the National Unification Advisory Council from 1998 to 2000, and president of the Seoul Journalists Club in 2007. In 2009, he received the Bae Seol Journalism Award from the Bae Seol Memorial Project Association and the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Commendation in the same year.

The funeral is being held at Seoul National University Hospital Funeral Hall Room 8 in Jongno-gu. The funeral procession will be at 8 a.m. on the 4th, and the burial site is the ancestral grave in Geumsan, Chungnam.