The strange tale of a prominent North Korean defector
The rise and fall of Tae Yong Ho illustrates the weaknesses of both Korean societies
Few political transformations are as dramatic as that of Tae Yong Ho. Until his defection in 2016, he was North Korea’s deputy ambassador in London. A video circulating online shows him earning applause from British fanboys of his country’s despotic regime by predicting that “the future will be of socialism”. Four years later he became the first defector directly elected to South Korea’s parliament. Representing the conservative People’s Power Party (PPP), he now predicts that the North Korean regime he once served “will inevitably collapse”.
This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “The rise and fall of Tae Yong Ho”
From the June 3rd 2023 edition
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