Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly

The chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly, formerly known as the president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, is the presiding officer of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly, which is the permanent body of the Supreme People's Assembly, North Korea's highest organ of state power.

Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly
Emblem of North Korea
Flag of North Korea
Incumbent Choe Ryong-hae since 11 April 2019
Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly
Type	Presiding officer
Appointer	Supreme People's Assembly
Term length	Same as the term of the Supreme People's Assembly
Constituting instrument	Constitution of North Korea
Inaugural holder	Kim Tu-bong
Formation	8 September 1948
Deputy	Vice Chairpersons Secretary-General

Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly
Chosŏn'gŭl	최고인민회의 상임위원회 위원장
Hancha	最高人民會議 常任委員會 委員長
Revised Romanization	Choego inmin hoeui sangim wiwonhoe wiwonjang
McCune–Reischauer	Ch'oego inmin hoeŭi sangim wiwŏnhoe wiwŏnjang

The chairman is formally elected by the SPA. The chairman organizes and guides the work of the Standing Committee, and presides over its work.^[1] Additionally, the chairman receives credentials and letters of recall of diplomatic representatives accredited by foreign countries. The chairman is assisted by vice chairpersons and a secretary-general, who together comprise the Permanent Committee of the Standing Committee, The chairman is also, along with all other members of the SPA Standing Committee, a member of the Plenary Meeting of the Standing Committee.^[2]

The current chairman of the Standing Committee is Choe Ryong-hae, who was chosen on 11 April 2019.^[3]

History

The 1948 Constitution created the position of Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly.^[4] The chairman presided over the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly, which was given the power to ratify or annul treaties with foreign countries, appoint or recall ambassadors to foreign countries and receive letters of credentials or recall of foreign diplomatic representatives.^[5] This made the chairman of the SPA Standing Committee the de jure head of state of North Korea. Nominally, the Chairman of the SPA Standing Committee held the highest state post followed by the premier, Kim Il Sung.

The 1972 Constitution created the position of President of North Korea who is tasked with being the country's head of state.^[6] The Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly (under the new Korean title of 최고인민회의 상설회의 의장) was removed of its power to represent the state and was limited to doing legislative work as the concurrent chairman of the Supreme People's Assembly.^[7]

The 1998 revision of the 1972 Constitution created the position under the new English translation of President of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly with its powers as head of state restored.^[8] However, the 1972 Constitution was revised in April 2019 to designate the then-Chairman of the State Affairs Commission as the head of state, with the powers reserved to the head of state being transferred to the SAC chairman in August of the same year.

In February 2022, the Chairman of the State Affairs Commission began to be referred in English as the President of the State Affairs. This led to the President of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly being referred in English to its previous title of Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly.

List of office holders

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office		Party		SPA
			Took office	Left office
1		Kim Tu-bong 김두봉 (1889–1958)	8 September 1948	20 September 1957		Workers' Party of North Korea (until 1949)	1st
						Workers' Party of Korea (from 1949)
2		Choe Yong-gon 최용건 (1900–1976)	20 September 1957	28 December 1972		Workers' Party of Korea	2nd
							3rd
							4th
3		Hwang Jang-yop 황장엽 (1923–2010)	28 December 1972	7 April 1983		Workers' Party of Korea	5th
							6th
							7th
4		Yang Hyong-sop 양형섭 (1925–2022)	7 April 1983	5 September 1998		Workers' Party of Korea
							8th
							9th
5		Kim Yong-nam 김영남 (born 1928)	5 September 1998	11 April 2019		Workers' Party of Korea	10th
							11th
							12th
							13th
6		Choe Ryong-hae 최룡해 (born 1950)	11 April 2019	Incumbent		Workers' Party of Korea	14th

References

Citations

1. Socialist Constitution of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Article 113
2. Socialist Constitution of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Article 117
3. "In full: promotions and demotions at North Korea's 14th SPA". NK PRO. Korea Risk Group. 12 April 2019. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
4. Constitution of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (1948), Article 48
5. Constitution of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (1948), Article 49
6. Socialist Constitution of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (1972), Article 89
7. Socialist Constitution of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (1972), Articles 86 and 87
8. Cha & Hwang 2008, p. 198.

Sources

Works cited

• Cha, Victor D.; Hwang, Balbina Y. (2008). "Government and Politics". In Worden, Robert L. (ed.). North Korea: A Country Study (5th ed.). Washington, DC: Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress. pp. 187–234. ISBN 978-0-8444-1188-0.