Thae Yong-ho becomes first North Korean defector to win parliamentary seat in South Korea

Thae bagged a seat in Seoul’s Gangnam district for the main opposition conservative party in Wednesday’s election

The 55-year-old was Pyongyang’s deputy ambassador to the UK until he fled to the South in 2016.

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Thae Yong-ho won a constituency seat in South Korea’s parliamentary elections. Photo: AP

Published: 6:30pm, 16 Apr 2020Updated: 9:15pm, 16 Apr 2020

A former North Korean diplomat has won a parliamentary seat in South Korea’s swankiest district, four years after fleeing a London embassy and defecting to the South.

Thae Yong-ho was Pyongyang’s deputy ambassador to the UK where he had managed secret funds for leader Kim Jong-un until he fled to the democratic, wealthy South in 2016.

Thae, 55, won one of three constituencies in Seoul’s glittering Gangnam district for the main opposition conservative party in Wednesday’s parliamentary election, beating a former four-term ruling party lawmaker by nearly a 20 per cent margin.

“I was dearly afraid if the Gangnam residents would take a guy from the North,” a smiling Thae said in an acceptance speech shared on his YouTube channel, as crowds of voters gathered in his campaign office, chanting his name and cheering.

“But so many people here gave me strength – they held my hand, welcomed me to Gangnam and promised to vote for me.”

Gangnam, a wealthy, conservative district known for its boutiques, high-end bars and luxury homes, shot to international renown through musician Psy’s 2012 K-pop hit Gangnam Style.