O Jin-u

Marshal O Jin-u (March 8, 1917 – February 25, 1995) was a general and politician of North Korea. He was the Minister of Armed Forces for many years until his death in February 1995. O was the third most powerful person in North Korea, after Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il (therefore the most powerful person that possessed no blood relations to the Kim family). Very little is known about him except for the fact that he served with Kim Il-sung's partisan unit and eventually rose through the ranks of the North Korean Army. He distinguished himself during the Korean War and was a trusted adviser of the North Korean leader until his death, also being his chief guard in 1945.

O Jin-u
Minister of People's Armed Forces
In office May 1976 – February 25, 1995
Leader	Kim Il-sung Kim Jong-il
Preceded by	Choe Hyon
Succeeded by	Choe Kwang
Chief of the General Staff of the Korean People's Army
In office December 1968 – September 1979
Leader	Kim Il-sung
Preceded by	Choe Kwang
Succeeded by	O Kuk-ryol
Personal details
Born	March 8, 1917 South Hamgyong Province, Japanese Korea
Died	February 25, 1995 (aged 77) Pyongyang, North Korea
Political party	Workers' Party of Korea
Military service
Allegiance	North Korea
Branch/service	Korean People's Army
Years of service	1932-1995
Rank	Marshal of the Korean People's Army
Battles/wars	Korean War

O Jin-u
Chosŏn'gŭl	오진우
Hancha	吳振宇
Revised Romanization	O Jinu
McCune–Reischauer	O Chinu

Biography

Born into a poor peasant family in Bukcheong, South Gyeongsang Province, he moved to Manchuria in 1933 and participated in the anti-Japanese activity. During his partisan activities, he joined with Kim Il-sung to serve as a military officer in the Northeast Anti-Japanese Army in 1938. From September 1946, he became military vice-president of the Central Security Officer School. In February 1948, he joined the Korean People's Army, which had just been established, and served as chief of staff of a brigade. In 1949, he served as the principal of the military school. After the Korean War broke out, he became the 43rd Division Commander. He led the 766th Independent Infantry Regiment to attack the Busan Ring Defensive Circle. O rose rapidly through military ranks: he was appointed chief of staff of the Korean People's Air Force in 1958, vice-minister of the Ministry of People's Security in 1962, general in 1963, director of the KPA General Political Bureau in 1967 and Chief of the General Staff in 1968. This concurred with his ascent to the top leadership of the Workers' Party of Korea, becoming Central Committee member in 1954, Political Committee (former name of the Politburo) member in 1966, Secretariat member in 1968 and Presidium member in 1977. Extremely close to Kim Il-sung, he is credited among the top officials who "proposed" Kim Jong-il to be Kim Il-sung's heir at a Central Committee plenum in 1974.[1] O championed Kim Jong-il's cause particularly within the military.[2]

A deputy to the Supreme People's Assembly since 1960, O was appointed member of the top Central People's Committee immediately after its establishment in 1972, as well as vice-chairman of the National Defence Commission and minister of the People's Armed Forces in 1976. He was also promoted to Vice Marshal in 1985 and Marshal in 1992.

After Kim Jong-il was made Chairman of the National Defence Commission in 1993, O replaced him as its first vice-chairman. He also was the second ranking member of the Kim Il-sung funeral committee in 1994, immediately beneath Kim Jong-il. He was also the last surviving WPK Presidium member along with the new leader.

He was one of three military officers in the North Korean Armed Forces who reached rank of Marshal with the title "Marshal of the Korean People's Army" .

In January 2017, it was reported that his three sons, O Il-hun, O Il-jong and O Il-su had been "purged" by Kim Jong-un. However, there was no official reason given on why it occurred but it is believed that Kim Jong-un did it to consolidate power due to their relation to O and that he viewed their relation to O as a possible threat to his ruling of the DPRK. Considering how revered O is in the DPRK to still receive the title of "Revolutionary Martyr" shocked observers that his sons were purged as respected officials' relatives tend to be well taken care of.[3]

Illness and death

O received medical treatment in France.

He died of lung cancer in 1995, a year after Kim Il-sung.[4] Since O was a major supporter for Kim Jong-il's succession, which had not been fully realized at the time of his death, the event was seen as a setback for Kim.[2] After O's death, Kim Jong-il left the minister's position vacant for more than seven months before naming a new minister, Choi Kwang.

A funeral committee of 240 members was appointed for O.[5] It included :[6]

1. Kim Jong-il
2. Kang Song-san
3. Ri Jong-ok
4. Pak Song-chol
5. Kim Yong-ju
6. Kim Yong-nam
7. Choe Kwang
8. Kye Ung-thae
9. Chon Pyong-ho
10. Han Song-yong
11. So Yun-sok
12. Kim Chol-man
13. Choe Tae-pok
14. Choe Yong-nim
15. Hong Song-nam
16. Yang Hyong-sop
17. Hong Sok-hyong
18. Yon Hyon-muk

Works

• Kim Il; Choe Hyon; Pak Sung-chul; O Jin-u; et al. (1982). Twenty-year-long Anti-Japanese Revolution Under the Red Sunrays: September 1931 – February 1936. 2. Pyongyang: Foreign Languages Publishing House. OCLC 914716941.
• O Jin-u (1970). "Speech by Chief of General Staff Oh Jin Woo [Speeches at the Pyongyang mass rally 'in support of the Chinese people's struggle against U.S. imperialism and for the liberation of Taiwan' (June 27, 1970)]". People of Asia: Unite and Drive the U.S. Agressors Out of Asia!. Peking: Foreign Languages Press. pp. 95–114. OCLC 204899.
• — (1974). "Once All the People Are Armed, They Can Drive Back Any Enemy". Establishing the People's Revolutionary Government: A Genuine People's Power. Pyongyang: Foreign Languages Publishing House. OCLC 441622192.
• — (1975). "The Gun Report that Rumbled in North Manchuria". Victory at Laoheishan. Pyongyang: Foreign Languages Publishing House. pp. 13–22. OCLC 449795434.
• — (1977). "On an Expedition to North Manchuria". Taking a Machine Gun Himself. Pyongyang: Foreign Languages Publishing House. OCLC 6423895.

References

1. Kim Jong Il. Short Biography.
2. The Europa World Year. Volume II: Kazakhstan - Zimbabwe (45th ed.). London: Europa Publications. 2004. p. 2462. ISBN 978-1-85743-255-8.
3. https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=3029094
4. WuDunn, Sheryl (February 25, 1995). "Oh Jin-Woo, the Defense Minister of North Korea, is Dead at 77". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-02-03.
5. Country Report: South Korea, North Korea (PDF). London: The Economist Intelligence Unit. 1997. p. 46. ISSN 1350-6900.
6. Gause, Ken E. (2006). North Korean Civil-Military Trends: Military-First Politics to a Point (PDF). Washington: Strategic Studies Institute. Figure 1. ISBN 1-58487-257-8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 February 2019.

Sources

• Martin, Bradly K. (2004). Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader: A History of North Korea and the Kim Dynasty. New York: Thomas Dunne. pp. 61–62. ISBN 0-312-32221-6.

External links

• "O Jin U". Private Institute for Korean Studies in Japan. Archived from the original on December 18, 2005. Retrieved 2008-02-03.