Chairman of the Supreme People's Assembly
Presiding officer of the Legislature of North Korea
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The chairman of the Supreme People's Assembly is the presiding officer of the Supreme People's Assembly, the supreme state organ of power of North Korea. The chairman also concurrently serves as the chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly.
President of the State Affairs Commission (when the SPA is not in session)
| Chairman of the Supreme People's Assembly | |
|---|---|
| 최고인민회의 의장 | |
 | |
 Flag of North Korea | |
Incumbent since 22 June 2026Vacant | |
| Appointer | Supreme People's Assembly President of the State Affairs Commission (when the SPA is not in session) |
| Term length | Same as the term of the Supreme People's Assembly |
| Inaugural holder | Ho Hon |
| Formation | 8 September 1948 |
The Supreme People's Assembly elects a chairman to preside its sessions.[1] Vice chairmen are elected alongside the chairman.[1] The president of the State Affairs Commission has the powers to suspend the duties of, appoint, or dismiss the premier during the recess of the Supreme People's Assembly.[2]
From 1972 until 1998 and since 2026, the chairman of the Supreme People's Assembly has been concurrently the chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly.[3]
The position is vacant since 22 June 2026.
List of office holders
| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) |
Term of office | Party | SPA | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | ||||||
| 1 |  |
Ho Hon 허헌 (1885–1951) |
8 September 1948 |
17 August 1951 |
2 years, 343 days | Workers' Party of North Korea (until 1949) |
1st | |
| Workers' Party of Korea (from 1949) | ||||||||
| Vacant (17 August 1951 – 22 December 1953) | ||||||||
| 2 |  |
Ri Yong 리영 (1889–1960) |
22 December 1953 |
20 September 1957 |
3 years, 272 days | Laboring People's Party | ||
| 3 | |
Choe Won-taek 최원택 (1895–1973) |
20 September 1957 |
16 December 1967 |
10 years, 87 days | Workers' Party of Korea | 2nd | |
| 3rd | ||||||||
| 4 | .jpg) |
Paek Nam-un 백남운 (1894–1976) |
16 December 1967 |
28 December 1972 |
5 years, 12 days | Workers' Party of Korea | 4th | |
| 5 |  |
Hwang Jang-yop 황장엽 (1923–2010) |
28 December 1972 |
7 April 1983 |
10 years, 100 days | Workers' Party of Korea | 5th | |
| 6th | ||||||||
| 7th | ||||||||
| 6 | |
Yang Hyong-sop 양형섭 (1925–2022) |
7 April 1983 |
5 September 1998 |
15 years, 151 days | Workers' Party of Korea | ||
| 8th | ||||||||
| 9th | ||||||||
| 7 | .jpg) |
Choe Thae-bok 최태복 (1930–2024) [4][5][6][7] |
5 September 1998 |
11 April 2019 |
20 years, 218 days | Workers' Party of Korea | 10th | |
| 11th | ||||||||
| 12th | ||||||||
| 13th | ||||||||
| 8 |  |
Pak Thae-song 박태성 (born 1955) [8] |
11 April 2019 |
17 January 2023 |
3 years, 281 days | Workers' Party of Korea | 14th | |
| 9 | .jpg) |
Pak In-chol 박인철 [9][10] |
17 January 2023 |
20 September 2025 |
2 years, 246 days | Workers' Party of Korea | ||
| Vacant (20 September 2025 – 22 March 2026) | ||||||||
| 10 | _(cropped).jpg) |
Jo Yong-won 조용원 (born 1957) [11][12] |
22 March 2026 |
20 June 2026 |
90 days | Workers' Party of Korea | 15th | |
| Vacant (since 22 June 2026) | ||||||||
Timeline
