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North Korean defector and United Future Party candidate Thae Yong-ho (officially registered as Thae Gu-min) celebrates after winning a seat in the National Assembly in Seoul’s Gangnam District on Apr. 16. (Yonhap News)

A North Korean defector has been elected to a constituency seat in South Korea’s National assembly for the first time, winning the Gangnam A district, a conservative bastion in Seoul. Even though the United Future Party (UFP) suffered a crushing defeat in the Seoul Capital Area overall, it won most of the seats in the three affluent districts in southeast Seoul (with the notable exception of Songpa C).

After the tally was completed on Apr. 16, Thae Yong-ho (officially registered as Thae Gu-min) had received 58.4% of votes cast in Gangnam A, leaving Democratic Party candidate Kin Seong-gon in the dust, at 39.6%. When his election became certain early on Thursday morning, Thae said, “This great victory today doesn’t belong to me, but to the people of Gangnam,” adding that “The Republic of Korea is my country, and Gangnam is now my home.” Thae also sang the national anthem and shed tears, apparently overcome with emotion.

Thae served as a minister at the North Korean Embassy in London until August 2016, when he and his family defected to South Korea. Thae spent his time delivering lectures and writing books until this year’s parliamentary elections, when he became a candidate for the UFP. He ran for office as “Thae Gu-min,” the name on his government records, which means, “saving the people of North Korea.”

There was initially some opposition within the party to the strategic decision to field Thae in the Gangnam A race instead of placing him on the proportional list, but in the end he won the district for the party.

The first North Korean defector to become a South Korean lawmaker was actually Cho Myong-chol, who was on the proportional list of the Saenuri Party (an earlier name of the UFP) in the 2012 general election, but this is the first time a defector has been elected directly by voters in a constituency. Another defector elected to the 21st National Assembly was Ji Seong-ho, who was 12th on the proportional list of the Future Korea Party (the UFP’s proportional affiliate).

“I found myself wondering whether the people of Gangnam would really choose me. Now that I’ve been elected, all I feel is gratitude. During the 70 years of Korea’s division, I think this process represents the road to peace and unification of South and North Korea. I think that Gangnam residents chose me because they’ve seen my courageous pursuit of freedom, democracy, and the market economy and want me to do something even greater. I’ll do my best not to let them down,” Thae said.

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