Tae Yong-ho Secretary General | |
|---|---|
.png) Tae testifying at the U.S. Capitol in November 2017 | |
| Secretary General of thePeaceful Unification Advisory Council | |
| Assumed office 22 July 2024 | |
| Member of theNational Assembly | |
| In office 30 May 2020 – 23 May 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Lee Jong-gu |
| Succeeded by | Suh Myung-ok |
| Constituency | Seoul,Gangnam A |
| North Korean Deputy Ambassador to the United Kingdom | |
| In office 1 June 2006 – 15 August 2016 | |
| Supreme Leader | Kim Jong Il Kim Jong Un |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1962-07-25)25 July 1962 (age 62) Pyongyang, North Korea |
| Other names | Tae Ku-min |
| Citizenship | South Korea North Korea (1962–2016) |
| Political party | Independent (since 2024) |
| Other political affiliations | Workers' Party of Korea (before 2016) People Power Party (2020–2024) |
| Spouse | O Hye-son |
| Children | 2 sons |
| Alma mater | Beijing Foreign Studies University,[1]Pyongyang University of Foreign Studies |
| Known for | Defection |
| Signature |  |
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 태영호 |
| Hanja | 太永浩[2] |
| Revised Romanization | Tae Yeongho |
| McCune–Reischauer | T'ae Yŏngho |
| Pseudonym | |
| Hangul | 태구민 |
| Hanja | 太救民 |
| Revised Romanization | Tae Gumin |
| McCune–Reischauer | T'ae Kumin |
Tae Yong-ho[a] (Korean: 태영호[tʰɛ.jʌŋ.ɦo];[3] born 25 July 1962), also known by his pseudonymTae Ku-min (태구민), is a North Korean-born South Korean politician and former diplomat who served as a member of theNational Assembly for theGangnam district ofSeoul. After studying abroad inBeijing,China, for a decade, he became North Korea's deputy ambassador to theUnited Kingdom, prior todefecting with his family toSouth Korea in 2016.[4][5] In August 2016, the South Korean government confirmed that Tae and his family were under their protection.[5]
Tae was elected to the National Assembly in the2020 South Korean legislative election as a member of thePeople Power Party.
![[icon]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg) | This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding to it.(September 2023) |
Tae was born in North Korea. He studied abroad in Beijing, China, at a young age, and learned English for more than eight years. After graduating from the AffiliatedHigh School ofBeijing Foreign Studies University, he studied atBeijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU) for his undergraduate studies. After coming back to North Korea, he went on to study at thePyongyang University of Foreign Studies. Tae began working in the 1980s.[6]
He was North Korea's deputy ambassador to theUnited Kingdom until August 2016,defecting with his family toSouth Korea.[4][5] Tae was one of North Korea's elite, regarded by observers as a sophisticated diplomat who was one of the "best and brightest" in the country.[7][8] Following his defection, the North Korean government denounced him as "human scum", accused him without evidence[9] of crimes including embezzlement and child rape, and unsuccessfully petitioned Britain to extradite him to North Korea for trial.[10]
Since his defection, Tae has given many talks and interviews about North Korea's government, which he describes as violent and controlling.[11] Citing the killings ofKim Jong-nam andJang Song-thaek, Tae believes that he is likely a target for assassination byKim Jong Un due to his defection and outspokenness.[11] In an interview in January 2017, Tae stated that theUnited Nations sanctions on North Korea were hurting the Kim regime, and that it is under significant pressure.[12] In another interview the same month, Tae said, "I am very determined to do everything possible to pull down the regime to save not only my family members but also the whole North Korean people from slavery."[13] Tae believes that "Kim Jong-un's regime one day will collapse by a people's uprising."[13][14] In an interview in April 2017, Tae stated that Kim was "desperate in maintaining his rule" and was relying heavily on itsdevelopment of nuclear weapons andballistic missiles to deter an external attack and preserve his grip on power.[11]
Tae worked as an adviser at the Institute for National Security Strategy from early 2017, an organization affiliated with theNational Intelligence Service; he resigned from the job out of personal will in May 2018.[15] He makes videos for the websiteDaily NK.[16]
Tae testified before the USHouse Foreign Relations Committee in November 2017. Tae advised the use ofsoft power, such as disseminating outside information, to weaken Kim Jong Un's rule.[17][18] He stated that the North Korean regime wants nuclear weapons in order to intimidate the U.S. into withdrawing its military forces from South Korea, thus weakening South Korea.[19][20] He also equated the North Korean regime to that ofapartheid-era South Africa andNazi Germany.[21]
In May 2018, Tae publishedPasscode to the Third Floor (3층 서기실의 암호;3層 書記室의 暗號), a memoir of his life as a North Korean diplomat.[22] The book became a bestseller in South Korea.[23] A total of 10,000 copies of the first print run were sold in four days.[24] It is a rare example of a book written by a North Korean defector becoming a bestseller in South Korea. The memoir was described byAndrei Lankov as "a remarkably balanced and unbiased text" and it "writes about the North Korean system in a slightly detached way, describing how things are done but never going into a righteous frenzy of moralistic outrage".[25]
In February 2020, Tae ran for a seat representing theGangnam District ofSeoul in the National Assembly inSouth Korea's parliamentary elections in April 2020. During his campaign, Tae ran under the pseudonymTae Ku-min (태구민),Ku-min meaning "saving the people [of North Korea]". Despite initially facing skepticism regarding his campaign and having no connection to the Gangnam District, Tae easily beat his opponent, becoming the first North Korean defector to win a National Assembly seat through a constituency vote.[26]
In May 2020, Tae apologised for claimingKim Jong Un was probably so ill, he could not stand during a three week period, when Kim was not seen in public. TheDemocratic Party criticised Tae for carelessness, with some members urging that Tae should be excluded from the intelligence and defence committees.[27]
On 10 May 2023, he voluntarily resigned from the People's Power Supreme Council.[28]
On 18 July 2024, President Yoon nominated Tae as the secretary-general of the Peaceful Unification Advisory Council.[29]
Tae is married to Oh Hye-son (오혜선), a relative ofKim Il Sung's comrade in arms during the 1930s,O Paek-ryong.[30] They have two sons. Their older son is a graduate of a British university,[31] and their younger son, who was born inDenmark, when Tae was serving as a diplomat there, was studying at a London school.[32] The younger son had been offered a place to studycomputer science atImperial College London.[32] However, the family had been recalled toPyongyang just before Tae's defection.[33] Tae was able to escape with his wife and children, but his brother and sister were left behind in North Korea.[11] Tae stated after his defection that "I'm sure that my relatives and my brothers and sisters are either sent to remote, closed areas or to prison camps, and that really breaks my heart."[13][34]
According to BBC reports, Tae is convivial, and enjoysIndian food, playing golf and tennis.[33] In addition to Korean and English, he speaks fluent Mandarin.[35] In 2015, he escortedKim Jong-chul, the older brother of North KoreanSupreme LeaderKim Jong Un, to anEric Clapton concert in London.[36] During his time in London, he lived in a two-bedroom flat in West London.[31] Tae stated that he defected as he did not want his children, who were used to a life of freedom in Britain, to live a life of oppression in North Korea.[37]
The 542-page book, titled "Cryptography From the Third-Floor Secretariat," recounts Mr. Thae's life as a North Korean diplomat before he fled to South Korea in 2016, becoming one of the highest-profile defectors from the North in years.
Quotations related toTae Yong-ho at Wikiquote| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
