North Korean Defector Wins Election in Posh South Korea District
- Thae Yong-ho is considered one of the highest-level defectors
- Ran as a conservative pushing a hard line against Pyongyang
Thae Yong-ho speaks to the media at his campaign headquarters in the Gangnam district of Seoul on April 16.
Photographer: Ed Jones/AFP via Getty Images
One of the highest-ranking North Koreans ever to defect made history by winning a parliamentary election in South Korea, running on a conservative platform where he lambasted both Kim Jong Un and the president of the country he now calls home.
Thae Yong-ho, who once was a top diplomat representing what North Korea calls its “unique socialist political mode,” pulled out the victory in Wednesday’s elections in a Seoul constituency known for its pricey housing, posh stores and plastic surgery clinics made famous by the pop song “Gangnam Style,” which has racked up nearly 3.6 billion views on YouTube.