Thae Yong-ho

Thae Yong-ho, also known by his pseudonym, Tae Ku-min, is a South Korean politician, defector from North Korea, and former diplomat who is a member of the National Assembly for the Gangnam district of Seoul. He was North Korea's deputy ambassador to the United Kingdom, prior to defecting with his family to South Korea in 2016. Thae has been variously described as the highest-ranking North Korean official to defect, and the highest-ranking North Korean defector since the 1997 defection of juche ideologist Hwang Jang-yop. In August 2016, the South Korean government confirmed that Thae and his family were under their protection. Thae was elected to the National Assembly in the 2020 South Korean legislative election as a member of the United Future Party.