Jong Jun-thaek (, 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 borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

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. Current vice premiers List of vice premiers ...

and member of the

Supreme People's Assembly The Supreme People's Assembly (SPA; ) is the legislature of North Korea. It is ostensibly the highest organ of state power and the only branch of government in North Korea, with all state organs subservient to it under the principle of unified ...

, North Korea's

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature consisting of one house or assembly that legislates and votes as one. Unicameralism has become an increasingly common type of legislature, making up nearly ...

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), also called the Korean Workers' Party (KWP), is the sole ruling party of North Korea. Founded in 1949 from a merger between the Workers' Party of North Korea and the Workers' Party of South Korea, the WPK is ...

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 Kor ...

. He served as the first Chairman of the National Planning Commission of North Korea in 1948 and the Vice Prime Minister. 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. 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 Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

on January 11, 1973, in

Pyongyang Pyongyang () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is sometimes labeled as the "Capital of the Revolution" (). Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. Accordi ...

.''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 Korea under Japanese rule, Japanese rule. The 30-hectare site is located near the top of Mount Ta ...

. He was posthumously awarded Hero of the Republic 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 Ministry of State Security (North Korea), Minister of State Security from 2018 to 2022, a member of the Central Military Commis ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jong, Jun-thaek 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 Vice premiers of North Korea