General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea

General Secretary of the
Workers' Party of Korea
조선로동당 총비서
Emblem of the General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea
Incumbent
Kim Jong Un
since 11 April 2012[note 1]
Workers' Party of Korea
StyleComrade (동지)
(formal)
Type
ResidenceGovernment Complex No. 1, Pyongyang
SeatPyongyang
NominatorParty Congress
AppointerParty Congress
Term lengthFive years,
life tenure
Constituting instrumentRules of the Workers' Party of Korea
Inaugural holderKim Tu-bong
Formation24 June 1949; 75 years ago (1949-06-24)
DeputySecretariat
General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea
Hangul
조선로동당 총비서
Hanja
Revised RomanizationJoseon Rodongdang Chongbiseo
McCune–ReischauerChosŏn Rodongdang Ch'ongbisŏ
Politics of North Korea
Constitution
Workers' Party of Korea
Congress (8th)
Supreme People's Assembly
14th term
State Affairs Commission
14th term
Cabinet
14th term
Elections
Administrative divisions
Foreign relations
Related topics
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The general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (Korean: 조선로동당 총비서) is the leader of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), the ruling party in North Korea, and the country's supreme leader. Party rules stipulate that the party congress elects the general secretary. The party conference and the Central Committee are empowered to remove and elect the party leader. The general secretary is ex officio Chairman of the WPK Central Military Commission and leads the work of the secretariat.[1] Additionally, the general secretary is by right of office member of the WPK Presidium, the WPK Politburo and the WPK Secretariat.

The office traces its lineage back to the reestablishment of the Communist Party of Korea (CPK) on 14 September 1945 when Pak Hon-yong was elected Chairman of the CPK Central Committee.[2] Later on 13 October 1945 the CPK established an internal North Korean Branch Bureau (NKBB) and nominated Hyon Chun-hyok as branch secretary.[3] Hyon Chun-hyok was assassinated on 3 September 1945 and Kim Yong-bom was elected as branch secretary in his place.[4] On 10 April 1946 the NKBB became independent of the CPK and changed its name to Communist Party of North Korea (CPNK).[5] Later that year, on 30 August, the CPNK merged with the New People's Party of Korea to establish the Workers' Party of North Korea (WPNK).[6] Kim Tu-bong was elected WPNK Chairman by the 1st WPNK Central Committee.[7] In the meantime the Workers' Party of South Korea (WPSK) was established through the merger of the Communist Party of South Korea (led by Pak Hon-yong), New People's Party of Korea and a faction of the People's Party of Korea on 24 November 1946.[8] The WPSK Central Committee elected Ho Hon as its party chairman.[9] On the merger of the WPNK and the WPSK on 24 June 1949, the 2nd Central Committee elected Kim Il Sung as Chairman of the WPK Central Committee.[10]

The offices of Chairman and Vice Chairman of the WPK Central Committee were abolished on 12 October 1966 and replaced with the offices of General Secretary and Secretary of the WPK Central Committee by a decision of the 14th Plenary Session of the 4th Central Committee.[11] Kim Il Sung was elected and remained in office until his death on 8 July 1994.[12] The post was abolished and replaced by the office of General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea on 8 October 1997 after having been left vacant for 3 years and 92 days.[13] Kim Jong Il was elected to the office by a joint announcement of the 6th Central Committee and the 6th Central Military Commission.[13] Kim Jong Il remained in office until his death on 17 December 2011. The office of General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea was left vacant for 116 days and was later abolished. Instead, Kim Jong Un was elected First Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea on 11 April 2012, and his father, Kim Jong Il, was given the appellation "Eternal General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea".[14] On 9 May 2016, the 7th WPK Congress abolished the office of First Secretary and the Secretariat and replaced it with Chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea and the office of Vice Chairman of the WPK Central Committee.[15] A similar change took place at the 8th WPK Congress, where the offices of chairman and vice chairman were abolished and replaced by the office of General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and the Secretariat.[16]


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  1. ^ Madden, Michael (2 February 2012). "4th Party Conference To Convene in "mid-April"". North Korea Leadership Watch. Archived from the original on 29 November 2020. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
    Madden, Michael (15 August 2010). "Party Secretariat". North Korea Leadership Watch. Archived from the original on 20 August 2023. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
  2. ^ Suh 1981, p. 281.
  3. ^ Suh 1981, pp. 279–80.
  4. ^ Lee 1963, p. 5; Suh 1981, p. 280.
  5. ^ Suh 1981, p. 280.
  6. ^ Suh 1981, pp. 282–3.
  7. ^ Suh 1981, p. 283.
  8. ^ Suh 1981, p. 282.
  9. ^ Suh 1981, p. 318.
  10. ^ Suh 1981, p. 321.
  11. ^ Suh 1981, p. 328.
  12. ^ Suh 1981, p. 328; Gause 2011, p. 18.
  13. ^ a b Gause 2011, p. 18.
  14. ^ Gause 2013, pp. 40–41.
  15. ^ Madden, Michael (20 May 2016). "Deciphering the 7th Party Congress: A Teaser for Greater Change?". 38 North. Archived from the original on 12 February 2021. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  16. ^ Frank, Rüdiger (19 January 2021). "Key Results of The Eighth Party Congress in North Korea (Part 2 of 2)". 38 North. Archived from the original on 12 February 2021. Retrieved 12 February 2021.