The general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea () is the leader of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), the ruling party in North Korea, and the country's supreme leader. Party rules stipulate that the party congress elects the general secretary. The party conference and the Central Committee are empowered to remove and elect the party leader. The general secretary is ex officio chairman of the WPK Central Military Commission and leads the work of the secretariat. Additionally, the general secretary is by right of office a member of the WPK Presidium, the WPK Politburo and the WPK Secretariat.
The office traces its lineage back to the reestablishment of the Communist Party of Korea (CPK) on 14 September 1945 when Pak Hon-yong was elected Chairman of the CPK Central Committee. Later on 13 October 1945 the CPK established an internal North Korean Branch Bureau (NKBB) and nominated Hyon Chun-hyok as branch secretary. Hyon Chun-hyok was assassinated on 3 September 1945 and Kim Yong-bom was elected as branch secretary in his place. On 10 April 1946 the NKBB became independent of the CPK and changed its name to Communist Party of North Korea (CPNK). Later that year, on 30 August, the CPNK merged with the New People's Party of Korea to establish the Workers' Party of North Korea (WPNK). Kim Tu-bong was elected WPNK Chairman by the 1st WPNK Central Committee. In the meantime the Workers' Party of South Korea (WPSK) was established through the merger of the Communist Party of South Korea (led by Pak Hon-yong), New People's Party of Korea and a faction of the People's Party of Korea on 24 November 1946. The WPSK Central Committee elected Ho Hon as its party chairman. On the merger of the WPNK and the WPSK on 24 June 1949, the 2nd Central Committee elected Kim Il Sung as Chairman of the WPK Central Committee.
The offices of Chairman and Vice Chairman of the WPK Central Committee were abolished on 12 October 1966 and replaced with the offices of General Secretary and Secretary of the WPK Central Committee by a decision of the 14th Plenary Session of the 4th Central Committee. Kim Il Sung was elected and remained in office until his death on 8 July 1994. The post was abolished and replaced by the office of General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea on 8 October 1997 after having been left vacant for . Kim Jong Il was elected to the office by a joint announcement of the 6th Central Committee and the 6th Central Military Commission. Kim Jong Il remained in office until his death on 17 December 2011. The office of General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea was left vacant for and was later abolished. Instead, Kim Jong Un was elected First Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea on 11 April 2012, and his father, Kim Jong Il, was given the appellation "Eternal General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea". On 9 May 2016, the 7th WPK Congress abolished the office of First Secretary and the Secretariat and replaced it with Chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea and the office of Vice Chairman of the WPK Central Committee. A similar change took place at the 8th WPK Congress, where the offices of chairman and vice chairman were abolished and replaced by the office of General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and the Secretariat.
Title history Title Established Abolished Established by Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Korea조선공산당 중앙위원회 위원장 14 September 1945 10 April 1946 1945 Congress of the Communist Party of Korea First Secretary of the North Korean Branch Bureau of the Communist Party of Korea조선공산당 북조선분국 비서 13 October 1945 10 April 1946 Conference of Members and Enthusiasts in the Five Northwestern Provinces First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of North Korea북조선공산당 중앙위원회 위원장 10 April 1946 30 August 1946 5th Enlarged Plenary Session of the North Korean Branch Bureau's Executive Committee Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of South Korea남조선공산당 중앙위원회 위원장 10 April 1946 24 November 1946 April Plenary Session of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Korea Chairman of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of North Korea북조선로동당 중앙위원회 위원장 30 August 1946 24 June 1949 1st Congress of the Workers' Party of North Korea Chairman of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of South Korea남조선로동당 중앙위원회 위원장 24 November 1946 24 June 1949 1st Congress of the Workers' Party of South Korea Chairman of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea조선로동당 중앙위원회 위원장 24 June 1949 12 October 1966 1st Joint Plenary Session of the 2nd Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea조선로동당 중앙위원회 총비서 12 October 1966 8 October 1997 14th Plenary Session of the 4th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea조선로동당 총비서 8 October 1997 11 April 2012 Joint Communique of the 6th Central Committee and the 6th Central Military Commission First Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea조선로동당 제1비서 11 April 2012 9 May 2016 4th Conference of the Workers' Party of Korea Chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea조선로동당 위원장 9 May 2016 10 January 2021 7th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea조선로동당 총비서 10 January 2021 Incumbent 8th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea References:
List of officeholders Communist Party of Korea (1945–1946) No.Numbers are not official. PortraitNameTerm startTerm endTenure Central Committee 1 Pak Hon-yong박헌영 14 September1945 10 April1946 CPK Central Committee
Communist Party of North Korea (1945–1946) No. PortraitNameTerm startTerm endTenure Central Committee 1 Kim Yong-bom김용범 13 October1945 18 December1945 NKBB Executive Committee 2 Kim Il Sung김일성 18 December1945 30 August1946 CPNK Executive Committee
Workers' Party of North Korea (1946–1949) No. PortraitNameTerm startTerm endTenure Central Committee 1 Kim Tu-bong김두봉 31 August1946 24 June1949 1st2nd
Communist Party of South Korea (1946) No. PortraitNameTerm startTerm endTenure Central Committee 1 Pak Hon-yong박헌영 10 April1946 24 November1946 CPK Central Committee
Workers' Party of South Korea (1946–1949) No. PortraitNameTerm startTerm endTenure Central Committee 1 Ho Hon허헌 24 November1946 24 June1949 Central Committee
Workers' Party of Korea (since 1949) No. PortraitNameTerm startTerm endTenure Central Committee 1 Kim Il Sung김일성 24 June1949 8 July1994 2nd3rd4th5th6th 2 Kim Jong Il김정일 8 October1997 17 December2011 6th 3 Kim Jong Un김정은 11 April2012 Incumbent 6th7th8th9th
Timeline
By term Congress Term Start End Duration Leader 1st Congress 1st Central Committee 30 August 1946 30 March 1948 Kim Tu-bong 2nd Congress 2nd Central Committee 30 March 1948 29 April 1956 Kim Il Sung 3rd Congress 3rd Central Committee 29 April 1956 18 September 1961 4th Congress 4th Central Committee 18 September 1961 13 November 1970 5th Congress 5th Central Committee 13 November 1970 14 October 1980 6th Congress 6th Central Committee 14 October 1980 9 May 2016 Kim Jong Il Kim Jong Un 7th Congress 7th Central Committee 9 May 2016 10 January 2021 8th Congress 8th Central Committee 10 January 2021 22 February 2026 9th Congress 9th Central Committee 22 February 2026 Incumbent References:
See also Politburo of the Workers' Party of Korea Presidium of the Politburo of the Workers' Party of Korea Secretariat of the Workers' Party of Korea
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