North Korean House of Cards

Name Position Comments
Kim Choljin
So Ho-won
Vice Director, State
Economic Development
Commission, 231
and Chairman,
Pyonggon Investment
Group
Vice Chairman,
Committee for Cultural
Relations with
Foreign Countries
• Began accompanying Kim Jong-un to
economic sites in September 2013
• Believed to be involved in economic
affairs at a high level at least since the
beginning of 2012
• Served at the Ministry of Foreign
Trade and government agencies facilitating
Chinese investment
• Reported to have extensive business
connections in China and experience
trading with South Korea in the
mid-2000s
• One of the few experts in economic
cooperation and trade in North Korea
• Oversaw the import of materials for
building houses in Pyongyang, the
Munsu Water Park, and the Masikryong
Ski Resort
• Referred to in the South Korean press
as an “economic tsar,” along with Pak
Pong-ju and Ro Tu-chol
• Son-in-law of O Kuk-ryol, Vice Chairman
of the NDC
There is another group of Kim Jong-un’s cohorts who may belong to this
fourth echelon. They are personal friends, mostly in their 20s and 30s, drawn
from the children of the North Korean elite. While they may or may not hold key
positions within the current leadership apparatus, their future rise within the official
apparatus cannot be overlooked. However, it should be noted that their power is
always vulnerable. If their parents get purged, they can lose all of their wealth and
231 Yun Il-Geon, “The Rise of Kim Chol-jin: North’s Hidden Influence in Economic Development,”
Yonhap News Agency, February 19, 2014. The State Economic Development Commission was established
in October 2013 under the control of the Cabinet. Although Kim Ki-sok is the Chairman of the Commission,
many believe that Kim Chol-jin carries more influence.
Committee for Human Rights in North Korea
112