Hon. Yong-ho Thae is a former North Korean diplomat who served as Minister (Deputy Ambassador) at the DPRK Embassy in London before defecting to South Korea in 2016. In 2020, he became the first former North Korean official elected to a constituency seat in the Republic of Korea’s National Assembly, representing Seoul’s Gangnam-A district for the People Power Party. Hon. Thae later became the first North Korean defector to hold a vice-ministerial level government position when he was appointed Secretary General of the National Unification Advisory Council. He stepped down from the post in July 2025. Drawing on his experience as a former North Korean diplomat, lawmaker, and senior government official, Hon. Thae has remained a prominent voice on North Korean human rights, inter-Korean affairs, and Korean unification.