Jong Jun-thaek ( ko, 정준택, 1911 – January 11, 1973) was a

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

n politician and public official who served as

Vice Premier of North Korea The Vice Premier of the Cabinet assists the Premier of North Korea in guiding the work of the Cabinet of North Korea. The office is also alternatively known as Deputy Prime Minister of North Korea. First Vice Premier The First Vice Premier of t ...

and member of the

Supreme People's Assembly The Supreme People's Assembly (SPA; ) is the unicameral legislature of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), commonly known as North Korea. It consists of one deputy from each of the DPRK's 687 constituencies, elected to five-year ...

, North Korea's

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one. Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multic ...

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

Biography

Following his studies, he worked as a mine manager. Jong joined the

Workers' Party of Korea The Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) is the founding and sole ruling party of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, commonly known as North Korea. Founded in 1949 from the merger of the Workers' Party of North Korea and the Workers' Party of ...

in 1946, and in 1947 was appointed as the director of the North Korean People's Committee and the representative of the Korean People's Assembly (the predecessor of the Supreme People's Assembly) in

South Hamgyong Province South Hamgyong Province (, ''Hamgyŏngnamdo''; ) is a province of North Korea. The province was formed in 1896 from the southern half of the former Hamgyong Province, remained a province of Korea until 1945, then became a province of North Kore ...

. He served as the first Chairman of the National Planning Commission of North Korea in 1948 and the

Vice Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...

. In 1957, he was re-elected as deputy member of the Supreme People's Assembly. In 1958, he was awarded the first class

Order of the National Flag The Order of the National Flag () is the second highest order of North Korea, after the Order of Kim Il-sung and the Order of Kim Jong-il. It is the oldest order in the country, having been established in 1948, just six weeks after the North ...

. In 1962, he once again became a representative of the Supreme People's Assembly. He was elected Chairman State Planning Commission in the North Korean Cabinet in September 1948, the 5th Deputy Prime Minister of the Cabinet on September 20, 1957, the 6th Deputy Prime Minister in October 1958, and the 7th Deputy Prime Minister on October 23, 1962. He was re-elected to the National Planning Commission in October 1962. JongvJun-thaek had an economics university named after him (Chong Jun Taek Kyongje Daehak) in Kangwon in 1960 and in Wonsan. He traveled to Syria and Sudan in 1972 on diplomatic missions, meeting President Assad. He died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

on January 11, 1973 in

Pyongyang Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populatio ...

.''Dong-A Ilbo'', 1973.01.13, p. 1 and was buried in the

Revolutionary Martyrs' Cemetery Taesongsan Revolutionary Martyrs' Cemetery () is a cemetery and memorial to the North Korean soldiers fighting for freedom and independence against Japanese rule. It is located near the top of Mount Taesong (Taesongsan) in the Taesong-guyŏk, ...

. He was posthumously awarded

Hero of the Republic Hero of the Republic () is a North Korean honorific title. It was created on 30 June 1950 as Hero of the Korean People's Republic (). It was the first title created in the country. Despite having been created just five days after the Korean War ...

title. His son is also high-ranking politician,

Jong Kyong-thaek Jong Kyong-thaek (, born between 1 January 1961 and 31 December 1963) is a North Korean politician. He served as the Minister of State Security from 2018 to 2022, a member of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jun-thaek, Jong Workers' Party of Korea politicians Members of the 5th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea Members of the 4th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea Members of the 3rd Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea 1911 births Date of birth missing Place of birth missing 1973 deaths