From a Seoul office, a North Korean defector governs the province of his birth



Features From a Seoul office, a North Korean defector governs the province of his birth Ji Seong-ho serves as leader of a place where he can’t set foot, tasked with preparing for unification that may not come Jooheon Kim \| Joon Ha Park May 30, 2025 SHARE COPY LINK FACEBOOK X LINKEDIN MASTODON Ji Seong-ho, a North Korean defector who now serves as governor of North Hamgyong Province, sits in his office beneath portraits of former governors and a datachart of the region during an interview with NK News on May 14, 2025 \| Image: NK News Each morning in a quiet corner of northern Seoul, Ji Seong-ho walks into an office lined with maps of cities he cannot visit and nameplates marking towns he no longer calls home. From behind his desk in a government complex in Gugi-dong, Ji receives briefings and leads meetings like any other provincial administrator. But unlike his counterparts in the South, he governs territory still firmly under North Korean control. Appointedin Aug. 2024 by then-President Yoon Suk-yeol, the defector-turned-lawmaker now serves as the official governor of North Hamgyong Province, North Korea’s northeasternmost region and a place he has not set © Korea Risk Group. All rights reserved. No part of this content may be reproduced, distributed, or used for commercial purposes without prior written permission from Korea Risk Group. Get the Daily Update Start your day with the North Korea stories that matter most – as selected by Trending

Features

From a Seoul office, a North Korean defector governs the province of his birth

Ji Seong-ho serves as leader of a place where he can’t set foot, tasked with preparing for unification that may not come

Jooheon Kim | Joon Ha Park May 30, 2025

From a Seoul office, a North Korean defector governs the province of his birth

Ji Seong-ho, a North Korean defector who now serves as governor of North Hamgyong Province, sits in his office beneath portraits of former governors and a datachart of the region during an interview with NK News on May 14, 2025 | Image: NK News

Each morning in a quiet corner of northern Seoul, Ji Seong-ho walks into an office lined with maps of cities he cannot visit and nameplates marking towns he no longer calls home.

From behind his desk in a government complex in Gugi-dong, Ji receives briefings and leads meetings like any other provincial administrator.

But unlike his counterparts in the South, he governs territory still firmly under North Korean control.

Appointedin Aug. 2024 by then-President Yoon Suk-yeol, the defector-turned-lawmaker now serves as the official governor of North Hamgyong Province, North Korea’s northeasternmost region and a place he has not set

About the Authors

Jooheon Kim

Jooheon Kim is a Correspondent at NK News. He previously worked at Aju News Corporation where he covered South Korea's economy and tech sectors, K-pop and inter-Korean relations.

View more articles by Jooheon Kim EMAIL Linkedin Got a news tip?Let us know!

Joon Ha Park

Joon Ha Park is a correspondent at Korea Risk Group. He has previously written on issues related to the two Koreas at The Peninsula Report, and appeared on ABC News Australia, Deutsche Welle and Monocle Radio. He specializes in offering in-depth analyses of South Korea’s defense policy, security relations and domestic politics for Korea Pro.

View more articles by Joon Ha Park EMAIL Twitter Got a news tip?Let us know!