Supreme People's Assembly (North Korea)

최고 인민 회의
Ch'oego inmin hoeŭi
Supreme People's Assembly

National coat of arms	Mansudae Congress Hall in Pyongyang, the parliament building of North Korea
Basic data
Seat:	Mansudae Congress Hall , Pyongyang
Legislative period :	5 years
First session:	September 2, 1948
MPs:	687
Current legislative period
Last choice:	March 10, 2019
Chair:	Chairman of the Presidium Choe Ryong-hae ( PdAK ) Chairman of the Pak Thae-song Assembly ( PdAK )
Distribution of seats:	Labor Party of Korea (607) Korean Social Democratic Party (50) Chondoist Ch'ŏngu Party (22) Non-party (8) ¹ ¹ : Five of them are Ch'ongryŏn , three are representatives of religious groups

Korean spelling
Korean alphabet :	최고 인민 회의
Hanja :	最高 人民 會議
Revised Romanization :	Choego inmin hoe (-) ui
McCune-Reischauer :	Ch'oego inmin hoeŭi

The Supreme People's Assembly of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea is formally the highest body of power in the state. Its powers and the election of its members are regulated in Articles 87 to 99 of the North Korean Constitution . The current 13th Supreme People's Assembly has 687 members. In fact, the parliament has no power, the Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un carries out both legislative and executive powers.

elections

The representatives are elected by the people every five years. According to Article 89 of the Constitution, the elections are “general, equal, direct and secret.” However, this does not mean that the Supreme People's Assembly is elected democratically, because there is no functioning multi-party system in North Korea in which groups competing with different programs are involved Make election by the people. The country is dominated by the Labor Party of Korea (abbreviation PdAK), whose claim to leadership is enshrined in the country's constitution. The two other parties (the Korean Social Democratic Party and the Chondoist Ch'ŏngu Party ), which are otherwise permitted in North Korea, do not develop any political activities and are only intended to create the appearance of a democratic multi-party system.

The three parties formally existing in North Korea are summarized in the unified list " Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland " (similar to the National Front of the GDR ). So theoretically there is only the possibility of voting for or against this list in elections. There is no alternative to choosing the standard list. According to official information, 100% of the votes cast regularly go to the single list. Representatives of the North Korean foreign organization in Japan , Ch'ongryŏn , are also elected to parliament via the list.

function

In itself, the Supreme People's Assembly is responsible for the legislation of the country. However, it is not a parliament in the classic sense because it does not work constantly. According to Article 92 of the Constitution, it only meets once or twice a year in the Mansudae Congress Hall. In the times between the sessions, almost always, legislation is exercised by the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly. Its chairman was also head of state of North Korea until the presidency was established in 1972. After the death of the only President Kim Il-sung to date , it was declared that the post of chairman of the National Defense Commission, which Kim Jong-il occupied until his death on December 17, 2011, was the highest in the state. According to the constitution, however, the chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly (since April 2019 Choe Ryong-hae , before that since September 5, 1998, Kim Yong-nam ) is still head of state and accordingly carries out protocol tasks, such as the accreditation of foreigners Ambassadors.

history

The previous organ of the Supreme People's Assembly was the People's Assembly. Its members were elected in 1946 by local administrative bodies and in turn elected the so-called Provisional People's Committee, the body that took over the affairs of government until the People's Democratic Republic was proclaimed. The People's Assembly also set up a commission to draft a constitution. This was passed on April 28, 1948 in a special session of the provisional parliament. The first elections to the Supreme People's Assembly took place on August 25 of the same year. According to official figures, with a turnout of 99.97%, the 212 candidates on the unified list received 98.49% of the vote. A so-called “Assembly of Representatives of the South Korean People” elected another 360 MPs. From September 2 to 10, 1948, the parliament met for its first sessions, at which it adopted the constitution and officially put the government under Kim Il-sung into office on September 9 .

The elections for the 13th Supreme People's Assembly took place on March 9, 2014. The elections for the 14th Supreme People's Assembly were held on March 10, 2019.

Choe Ryong-hae is currently President of the Supreme People's Assembly .

For electoral terms and government offices, see the list of rulers in North Korea

Web links

Commons : Supreme People's Assembly  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Information about the North Korean state apparatus on the pages of CIA (English)
• Film clips of a meeting of the Supreme People's Assembly on YouTube (recording from North Korean state television )

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Interparliamentary Union : DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF KOREA Choe Go In Min Hoe Ui (Supreme People's Assembly) , accessed on August 27, 2015 (English).
2. ^ The Economist Intelligence Unit: Country Report North Korea. London, May 2007. p. 8 (English).
3. ↑ Ruler Kim Jong Il is dead , in: Stern from December 19, 2011, accessed on December 20, 2011.
4. ↑ Deputy of Kim Jong Un: North Korea has a new head of state ; in: Spiegel Online from April 12, 2019, accessed on March 18, 2020
5. ^ KBS World Radio: North Korea A to Z, Brief history of the NK, 1940s .
6. ^ Spiegel Online : Parliament in North Korea: Kim lets vote .
7. ↑ North Korea announces “parliamentary elections” in March , January 9, 2019.

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Coordinates: 39 ° 1 ′ 43 "  N , 125 ° 44 ′ 59"  E