Sim Chol-ho (

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

: 심철호; 5 July 1960 – October 2014) 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 engineer and politician. He was a 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 ...

and served as the Minister of Post and Telecommunications beginning in 2012. He has not been seen in public since October 2014, when he and six other officials disappeared in a

purge In history, religion and political science, a purge is a position removal or execution of people who are considered undesirable by those in power from a government, another organization, their team leaders, or society as a whole. A group undertak ...

connected to Supreme Leader

Kim Jong-un Kim Jong-un (; , ; born 8 January 1982) is a North Korean politician who has been Supreme Leader of North Korea since 2011 and the leader of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) since 2012. He is a son of Kim Jong-il, who was North Korea's sec ...

. He was reportedly executed, though his death is unconfirmed.

Early life and education

Sim was born on 5 July 1960. He studied at the Faculty of Automation at

Kim Il-sung University Kim Il-sung University, founded on 1 October 1946, is the first university built in North Korea. It is located on a campus in Pyongyang, the nation's capital. Along with the main academic buildings, the campus contains 10 separate offices, 50 l ...

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 ...

between September 1982 and August 1987, where he received his

Master of Engineering A Master of Engineering (abbreviated MEng, M.E. or M.Eng.) is either an academic or professional master's degree in the field of engineering. International variations Australia In Australia, the Master of Engineering degree is a research deg ...

Career

From September 1987 to April 1995, Sim was the chief

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

at the Central Info-Communication Bureau. From May 1995 to November 2008, he worked as a manager and director of the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications. In December 2008, he was made Vice Minister of Post and Telecommunications, a position he held until December 2011. In 2010, he was named a member of the

Central Auditing Commission Central Auditing Commission (CAC), (russian: Центральная ревизионная комиссия КПСС), Centralnaya revizionnaya komissiya) was a supervisory organ within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Similar organs exist ...

of 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 January or February 2012, he became Minister of Post and Telecommunications. In that office, one of his main roles was overseeing the North Korean mobile phone network,

Koryolink Koryolink ( ko, 고려링크, styled as koryolink) is a North Korean wireless telecommunications provider. The company is a cellular operator held by Cheo Technology, a joint venture between Orascom Telecom Media and Technology Holding (OTMT) whi ...

. In April 2013, he was reconfirmed as minister by the

13th Supreme People's Assembly Parliamentary elections were held in North Korea on 9 March 2014 to elect the members of the 13th Supreme People's Assembly. Background This was the first election since the assumption of Kim Jong-un as leader of the country as the leader of th ...

. This was the last time he appeared in

state media State media or government media are media outlets that are under financial and/or editorial control of the state or government, directly or indirectly. There are different types of state and government media. State-controlled or state-run media a ...

. In March 2014, Sim was elected to the

for the Ongjin constituency. He, along with other close associates of the late

Kim Jong-il Kim Jong-il (; ; ; born Yuri Irsenovich Kim;, 16 February 1941 – 17 December 2011) was a North Korean politician who was the second supreme leader of North Korea from 1994 to 2011. He led North Korea from the 1994 death of his father Kim ...

, were reportedly put in the Assembly to help maintain a stable relationship between

and older leading officials.

2014 purge and reported execution

On 23 October 2014, a source told the South Korean newspaper ''

JoongAng Ilbo ''The JoongAng'', formally known as ''JoongAng Ilbo'', is a South Korean daily newspaper published in Seoul, South Korea. It is one of the three biggest newspapers in South Korea, and a newspaper of record for South Korea. The paper also publ ...

'' that they had received "reliable information" that six minister-level officials had been purged from the government and executed. Among the ministers listed were Sim, Ma Won-chun, General

Ri Pyong-chol Ri Pyong-chol (, born 1948) is a North Korean marshal and formerly a top advisor of supreme leader Kim Jong-un, who served as Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission and a member of the Presidium of the Politburo of the Workers' Party ...

Chang Ung Chang Ung (, born 5 July 1938) is a North Korean sports administrator and former athlete. He is currently the honorary life president of the International Taekwon-Do Federation, having previously served as its President from 2002 to 2015 followi ...

, and

Ri Yong-gil Ri Yong-gil (, born 1955) is a North Korean military officer and the current Minister of Social Security. He is believed to have been in his 60s when appointed to his position as a general in 2013. Ri was made a Lieutenant General in April 200 ...

. Sim did not appear often in state media, but his absence from a meeting of North Korean officials with

Naguib Sawiris Naguib Onsi Sawiris (or Sawires; ar, نجيب اُنسى ساويرس ; ; born 15 June 1954) is an Egyptian billionaire businessman. Sawiris is chairman of Weather Investments's parent company, and the former chairman and CEO of Orascom Tele ...

, head of the

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

ian company

Orascom Telecom Global Telecom Holding S.A.E. (GTH; formerly Orascom Telecom Holding) is a holding company based in Amsterdam, and a subsidiary of the multinational telecommunications services company VEON. GTH previously owned mobile network operators in multipl ...

, which provides North Korea's mobile network, was considered unusual. He has not been seen publicly since 2014, but his execution remains unconfirmed.

Personal life

Sim was married with two children. He spoke both

and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sim, Chol-ho 1960 births 2010s missing person cases 2014 deaths 20th-century engineers 21st-century engineers 21st-century executions by North Korea 20th-century North Korean scientists 21st-century North Korean scientists Date of death unknown Executed North Korean people Government ministers of North Korea Kim Il Sung University alumni Members of the Supreme People's Assembly North Korean engineers People from South Hwanghae Workers' Party of Korea politicians

Early life and education

Career

2014 purge and reported execution

Personal life

See also

References