O Jin-u

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O Jin-u
First Vice Chairmen of the National Defence Commission
In office 1993–1995
Leader	Kim Il-sung Kim Jong-il
Preceded by	Kim Jong-il
Succeeded by	Jo Myong-rok
Vice Chairmen of the National Defence Commission
In office 1972–1993
Leader	Kim Il-sung Kim Jong-il
Preceded by	Preceded by
Succeeded by	Ri Yong-mu
Member of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea
In office 1980–1995
Leader	Kim Il-sung Kim Jong-il
Preceded by	Preceded by
Succeeded by	Suceded by
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
In office February 1988 – February 1995
Preceded by	O Kuk-ryol
Succeeded by	Choe Kwang
Director of the General Political Bureau of the Korean People's Army
In office 1967–1968
Leader	Kim Il-sung Kim Jong-il
Preceded by	Preceded by
Succeeded by	Succeeded by
In office 1979–1995
Preceded by	Preceded by
Succeeded by	Jo Myong-rok
Personal details
Born	(1917-03-08)March 8, 1917 South Hamgyong Province, Japanese Korea
Died	February 25, 1995(1995-02-25) (aged 77) Pyongyang, North Korea
Political party	Workers' Party of Korea
Children	O Il-hun O Il-jong O Il-su
Awards	Hero of the Republic (twice) Hero of Labor (North Korea) Order of Kim Il-sung (4 times) Order of the National Flag (6 times)
Military service
Allegiance	North Korea
Branch/service	Korean People's Army
Years of service	1932-1995
Rank	Marshal of the Korean People's Army
Commands	766th Independent Infantry Regiment (North Korea) 43rd Division (North Korea) 3rd Division (North Korea)
Battles/wars	Korean independence movement Battle of Pochonbo World War II Pacific War Korean War Operation Pokpoong Battle of Pusan Perimeter Battle of P'ohang-dong
Korean name
Hangul	오진우
Hanja	吳振宇
Revised Romanization	O Jinu
McCune–Reischauer	O Chinu

O Jin-u (March 8, 1917 – February 25, 1995) was a general and politician of North Korea. He was the Minister of Armed Forces from May 1976 until his death in February 1995. O was considered the third most powerful person in North Korea, after Kim Il-sung and his son Kim Jong-il, therefore making him 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.

Biography[]

Born into a poor peasant family in Bukcheong, South Gyeongsang Province, O moved to Manchuria in 1933 and participated in 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 the military vice-president of the Central Security Officer School. In February 1948, he joined the recently established Korean People's Army and served as the 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 (North Korea) Commander. He led the 766th Independent Infantry Regiment in the attack against the Busan Ring Defensive Circle. After the war, he was the commanding general of the 3rd Division (North Korea). 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 a Central Committee member in 1954, a Political Committee (former name of the Politburo) member in 1966, a Secretariat member in 1968 and a 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 the 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. There was no official reason given on why it occurred; however, it is believed that Kim Jong-un because he viewed their relation to O as a possible threat to his rule of the DPRK. Considering how revered O was in the DPRK to still receive the title of "Revolutionary Martyr", the incident shocked observers, as respected officials' relatives tended to be well taken care of.^[3]

Illness and death[]

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]

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[]

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.