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South Korea has appointed a former North Korean diplomat and defector to a high-ranking government position.
President Yun Seok-yeol appointed Thae Ryong-ho as secretary-general of the Peaceful Unification Advisory Council, which will develop and implement recommendations for the unification of North and South Korea.
Thae high-profilely defected to South Korea in 2016 and was previously the North Korean ambassador to London.
The appointment makes him the first North Korean defector to hold a vice ministerial position in South Korea. According to the Associated Press.
Ramon Pacheco Pardo, dean of the KF-VUB Korean department at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel’s School of Public Administration, told Business Insider that the appointment is significant in itself.
“But this is even more significant given Thae’s history as a high-ranking defector who served as a member of parliament until the recent election,” he said.
“Mr Thae is a very well-known figure and should raise the profile of the council,” he added.
2017, Tet He told CNN He fled with his wife and sons for the sake of his family’s future and freedom.
After his defection, North Korean authorities He called Tae “human trash.” And accused him of a crime.
Sarah A. Song, a senior lecturer in Korean studies at the University of Sheffield, told BI that the appointment means North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s regime is likely to continue to discredit Thae.
“He is definitely viewed as a traitor to the current North Korean regime and I think they will portray it as such,” she said.
In 2020, Thae was elected to South Korea’s National Assembly, joining several other North Korean defectors who have become lawmakers in the country.
In his new role, Thae will work to build peaceful relations between the two Koreas with the ultimate goal of unification.
But “North Korea does not consider the Security Council to be particularly important,” Pardo, the KF-VUB South Korean chairman, told BI.
Hazel Smith, professor of Korean studies at SOAS London, who has known Thae for many years, believes North Korea will find his appointment “deeply annoying”.
“This is him “She was politically active and held political office in South Korea.”
Smith told BI he thought Tay would be great in the role.
“This is clearly not a nominal position given to him by the South Korean government,” she said.
Smith added: “He has been and will continue to be actively involved in the campaign to expose the problems of the North Korean government and people.”