So Kwan-hui (1926–1997) was a North Korean politician. He served as the North Korean Minister of Agriculture. After initially disappearing in May 1996, he was accused in 1997 of spying for the United States government and sabotaging North Korean agriculture on purpose, leading to the

North Korean famine The North Korean Famine (), also known as the Arduous March or the March of Suffering (), was a period of mass starvation together with a general economic crisis from 1994 to 1998 in North Korea. During this time there was an increase in defec ...

. He was also accused of

embezzling Embezzlement is a crime that consists of withholding assets for the purpose of conversion of such assets, by one or more persons to whom the assets were entrusted, either to be held or to be used for specific purposes. Embezzlement is a type ...

funds, originally intended for

fertilizer A fertilizer (American English) or fertiliser (British English; see spelling differences) is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from ...

, which had been given by the " Dear Leader," as well as of having been a

counter-revolutionary A counter-revolutionary or an anti-revolutionary is anyone who opposes or resists a revolution, particularly one who acts after a revolution in order to try to overturn it or reverse its course, in full or in part. The adjective "counter-revoluti ...

South Korean spy from the very beginning who stayed behind in the north to infiltrate the Workers' Party. As a result, he was executed by

firing squad Execution by firing squad, in the past sometimes called fusillading (from the French ''fusil'', rifle), is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war. Some reasons for its use are that firearms are us ...

publicly by the North Korean government. An unidentified defector once claimed that some officials of the Socialist Youth League were executed around the same time, reportedly for "corrupt financial dealings" with South Korean intelligence agents. This was followed by a later purge of several other high government officials, also accused of being South Korean collaborators as well. It has been speculated that

Kim Chol-man Kim Chol-man (김철만; 2 November 1920 – 3 December 2018) was a North Korean politician and military official. He was a member of several important committees and organizations, including the 6th Central Military Commission, the 6th Politb ...

replaced his position regarding the agriculture portfolio.

References

1926 births 1997 deaths 20th-century executions by North Korea Workers' Party of Korea politicians Agriculture ministers of North Korea People executed by North Korea by firing squad Moscow State University alumni {{NorthKorea-politician-stub