Pak Hon-yong

Pak Hon-yong
박헌영
Pak in 1948
Vice Chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea Central Committee
2nd Central Committee
In office
24 June 1949 – 6 August 1953
Serving with Ho Ka-i
ChairmanKim Il Sung
Vice Premier of the Cabinet
1st Cabinet of North Korea
In office
9 September 1948 – 3 March 1953
PremierKim Il Sung
Minister of Foreign Affairs
1st Cabinet of North Korea
In office
9 September 1948 – 3 March 1953
PremierKim Il Sung
Preceded byPost established
Succeeded byNam Il
Vice Chairman of the Workers' Party of South Korea Central Committee
In office
24 November 1946 – 30 June 1949
Serving with Yi Ki-sok
ChairmanHo Hon
Chairman of the Communist Party of Korea Central Committee
In office
14 September 1945 – 24 November 1946
Preceded byPost established
Succeeded byHo Hon
Personal details
Born(1900-05-28)28 May 1900
Yesan, South Chungcheong Province, Korean Empire (now South Korea)
Died(1955-12-18)18 December 1955 (aged 55)
Pyongyang, North Korea
CitizenshipNorth Korean
NationalityKorean
Spouse(s)Joo Se-juk, Jung Sunnyen, Yi Sunkeum, Yun Lena
ChildrenDaughter: Vivian Park, Nathesa Park
Son: Park Byungsam
Parent(s)Lee Hakkyu (Mother)
Park Hyin-ju (Father)
EducationKyŏngsŏng Ordinary High School(1919)
Alma materKyungKi High School
International Lenin School
Korean name
Chosŏn'gŭl
박헌영
Hancha
Revised RomanizationBak Heonyeong
McCune–ReischauerPak Hŏnyŏng
Art name
Chosŏn'gŭl
이정, 이춘
Hancha
Revised RomanizationIjeong, Ichun
McCune–ReischauerIjŏng, Ich'un
Courtesy name
Chosŏn'gŭl
덕영
Hancha
Revised RomanizationDeogyeong
McCune–ReischauerTŏgyŏng

Pak Hon-yong (Korean박헌영; Hanja朴憲永; 28 May 1900 – 18 December 1955[citation needed]) was a Korean independence activist, politician, philosopher, communist activist and one of the main leaders of the Korean communist movement during Japan's colonial rule (1910–1945). His nickname was Ijong (이정) and Ichun (이춘), his courtesy name being Togyong (덕영).

During the Japanese occupation of Korea, he tried to organize the Korean Communist Party. When the Japanese authorities cracked down on the party, he went into hiding. After Korea's liberation, August 1945, he set up the Communist Party of Korea in the South, but under pressure from American authorities he moved to North Korea (then People's Committee of North Korea) in April 1948. He attended a meeting with Kim Ku and Kim Kyu-sik on the subject of Korean reunification.

On record, he collaborated with Kim Il Sung in the Korean War.[1] Park Hun-young was surprised by the strength of President Syngman Rhee's crackdown. Rhee massacred Southern dissenters, as in the Jeju Uprising, the Mungyeong Massacre and the Bodo League Massacre. In 1955, on account of the defeat in the Korean War, he was sentenced to forfeiture of all property and death. Although the Soviet Union and China tried to dissuade Kim Il Sung from executing Pak,[2] Pak was eventually executed for the fabricated accusation of being an American spy.[3]

  1. ^ "야, 이 자식아! 전쟁이 잘못되면 나뿐 아니라 너도 책임이 있어!" [You bastard, if the war goes wrong, you're responsible, too!]. The Chosun Ilbo. 6 June 2010. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
  2. ^ Ivanov, Vasily Ivanovich, Memorandum of Conversation with Kim Il Sung : April 19, 1956 Wilson Center Digital Archive
  3. ^ Lankov, Andrei (2013). The Real North Korea. Oxford University Press. pp. 13 to 14. ISBN 978-0-19-996429-1.