Thae Khwarg is a Senior U.S. Attorney at S&L Partners and an International Arbitrator with KCAB International. While he practices general corporate law his expertise lies in governance issues. He combines legal knowledge and many years of investment experience. Thae started his legal practice at Coudert Brothers in New York. For five years he advised multinational companies on their syndicated loans, joint ventures as well as mergers and acquisitions. After that he headed up the research department of Baring Securities and thereby contributed to the development of the Korean capital market. He then set up an asset management company called Asset Korea and grew its assets under management to Won 11 trillion over a 25-year period. Asset Korea later became Baring Asset Management Korea.

Thae engaged in several outside activities. For four years he served as a member of the Steering Committee at Korea Investment Corporation (Korea’s sovereign wealth fund). As the head of the Investment Sub-Committee he experienced the ups and downs of alternative asset investing. While serving as an outside director of Korea Telecom and Chair of its Sub-Committee on Fair Trade he gained first-hand experience in governance practices of a large corporation. He also served on the National Pension Service Long-Term Investment Policy Committee. Thae currently serves as an audit committee member of Hanmi Science.

Together with the litigation team at S&L and other environmental lawyers Thae is working on a landmark climate petition to the Constitutional Court of Korea. The public hearings for this case is set for 23 April and 21 May of 2024.

Corporate Governance, Finance, Corporate

2021- Present
2021
1984
1980
1976 Korea National Open University, Business Administration, 3rd year
Korea National Open University, College of Law, LL.B
Harvard Law School, J.D.
Columbia College, B.A. in History (magna cum laude)
Upper Merion High School in Pennsylvania

2022- Present
2021- Present
2020- Present
2019 - Present
2018- Present
2018- Present
2005 - 2022
1996 - 2016
2013 - 2016
2008 - 2016
2008 - 2012
2005
2005 - 2008
2001 - 2002
1992 - 1996
1988 - 1991
1984 - 1988
Outside Director, Hanmi Science Co, Ltd.
Member, Investment Committee, Overseas Acquisition Financing Fund and Global Infra Loan Fund, PineStreet Asset Management Co., Ltd.
Member, Panel of International Arbitrators, KCAB International
Member, Fund management Committee and Fund Investment Committee, The Asan Nanum Foundation
Member, Board of Advisors, Re-Imagining Cities Foundation
Senior U.S. Attorney, S&L Partners
Outside Director, MetLife Korea Foundation
CEO of Baring Asset Management Korea (prior to 2013, CEO of SEI Asset Korea Co., Ltd., which was owned by SEI Investments, MetLife and International Finance Corporation): assets under management grew from Won 300 billion to Won 11 trillion
Director, Baring Asset Management (Asia) Limited
Director, Korea Financial Investors Protection Foundation
Member of Steering Committee and Chair of Investment Sub-Committee of Korean Investment Corporation
Completed a Program for Directors at the Korea Directors Institute
Outside Director and Chair of Sub-Committee on Fair Trade, Korea Telecom
Member, Long-Term Investment Policy Committee of National Pension Service
Senior Fund Manager and Managing Director, Asset Korea: provided research and investment advice on Korean stocks, bonds and real estate as well as Chinese stocks
Head of Research and Deputy Branch Manager, Baring Securities Seoul Branch
Associate, Coudert Brothers (New York and Hong Kong): advised on international transactions, anti-trust, delisting, JV establishment, bankruptcy and private equity transactions

Panel Member, Asia-Oceania Asset Management Conference (March 2014)
Panel Member, Citibank ‘Savings to Investment’ Forum (March 2005)
Speaker, Investment Company Institute 2002 Mutual Funds and Investment Management in Asia Conference (November 2002)
Panel Member, Korea National Pension Fund Seminar on the Importance of Investment Policy and Proxy Voting (October 2001)
Contributed Article: ‘China’s SOC Investments’ and other contributed articles (total of nine) in Maeil Economic Daily (September 2014 to January 2015)
Co-Author: Guide to Global Stock Markets (chapter on the Korean market), Probus Professional Publishing, 1991

From 1997 to 2018 Thae and/or his company received 45 awards. Key awards were:
• Grand Award for Korea Funds, KG Zero-In (January 2018)
• Best Korean Fixed Income Manager, Asian Investor (June 2016)

New York Bar Association (admitted in June 1985)

Korean, English