Tae Yong-ho is a high-profile North Korean defector with deep understanding of North Korean politics and diplomacy. Now, he has been appointed to lead South Korea's presidential advisory council on unification.
As reported by Yonhap, Tae Yong-ho's appointment as head of the Peaceful Unification Advisory Council marks the first time a North Korean defector has served in a deputy ministerial post in South Korea.
Born in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang in 1962, Tae began his diplomatic career with postings in Sweden and Denmark. He later served as the No. 2 North Korean diplomat at the North Korean Embassy in London.
In 2016, he defected to South Korea with his family.
Political Achievements
Tae's political journey in South Korea has been noteworthy.
Just four years after defecting, he was elected as a lawmaker in 2020, becoming the first North Korean defector to enter the National Assembly through direct voting.
His victory in Seoul's affluent Gangnam district, a conservative stronghold, drew attention. Running under the pseudonym "Tae Ku-min," meaning "saving people" in Korean, he expressed his commitment to "rescue North Korean people."
In the Assembly, Tae served as deputy chief of the ruling People Power Party from 2021 to 2022 and led the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee from November 2023 to May 2024.
Despite his achievements, Tae failed to secure a second term in the April parliamentary elections this year.
Tae studied at Pyongyang University of International Relations and earned a bachelor's degree in English Literature from Beijing Foreign Studies University.
