# O Jin-u

O Jin-u (Korean: 오진우; March 8, 1917 – February 25, 1995) was a North Korean general and politician. He was a close associate of Kim Il Sung. O served under Kim in the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army, and then as commander of Kim's bodyguard. He was a founding officer of the Korean People's Army (KPA), fought in the Korean War, and was a Vice-Chairman of the National Defence Commission from 1972 until dying in 1995. He was considered to be the most powerful person in North Korea after Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, a hardliner, and a strong supporter of North Korea's nuclear program.

## Career

O was born in Bukcheong, South Gyeongsang Province, to a poor peasant family. In 1933, joined anti-Japanese forces in Manchuria and began a long association with Kim Il Sung. They joined the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army in 1938, returning to Korea in 1945 as part of the 88th Separate Rifle Brigade to found North Korea. O became the leader of the Pyongyang Police Station and Kim's bodyguard. In February 1948, he transferred to the new KPA.
O started the Korean War as commander of the 43rd Division. He led the 766th Independent Infantry Regiment during the Battle of the Pusan Perimeter. After the war he was rapidly promoted through the military and political hierarchy. 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. In the Workers' Party of Korea, he joined the Central Committee in 1954, the Political Committee in 1966, the Secretariat in 1968 and the Presidium in 1977.
O Jin-u is held responsible for the Korean axe murder incident and Rangoon bombing as head of the KPA. He helped Kim Il Sung maintain control of the military. O initially supported Kim Pyong-il succession Kim Il Sung; Kim Jong Il did not have military experience and did not look like an orthodox communist to O. O's switch to support Kim Jong Il was likely the decisive factor in securing the latter's succession. According to top officials, O "proposed" as Kim Il Sung heir at a Central Committee plenum in 1974. and helped him take control of the military; O championed Kim Jong Il's cause, particularly within the military.
A deputy to the Supreme People's Assembly since 1960, O was appointed member of the top Central People’s Committee [ja] 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, one of only three military officers in the North Korean Armed Forces to be granted the rank.
After Kim Jong Il was made Chairman of the National Defence Commission in 1993, O replaced him as its first vice-chairman. In 1990, after the collapse of the socialist bloc, he led the emergency system. 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.
According to the testimony of film director Shin Sang-ok, who was abducted from North Korea, "O Jin-u once said that if he was drunk, he would wipe out Busan in a week if the general commanded him. Lunch in Daejeon, dinner in Busan... "
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. No official reason was given for why they were purged; however, it is believed that Kim Jong Un viewed their relation to O as a possible threat to his rule of the DPRK. Considering how revered O was in the DPRK (still having the title of "Revolutionary Martyr"), the incident shocked observers, as respected officials' relatives tended to be well taken care of. However, in contradiction to this report, in 2021, O Il-jong was elected as a member of the Politburo of the Workers' Party of Korea.

## Illness and death

O Jin-u, who had been victorious in the North Korean regime, suffered a worsening case of lung cancer, and his frequency of public appearances decreased significantly during this time. He went to France to receive treatment under Kim Jong Il's special consideration, but he did not show any signs of recovery and finally died in February 1995 while fighting the disease in Pyongyang, a year after Kim Il Sung. 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. 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. O Jin-u is deeply imprinted with a warlike appearance, and the first person that comes to mind when many people think of the North Korean People's Army is O Jin-u.
A funeral committee of 240 members was appointed for O. It included:
* Kim Jong Il
* Kang Song-san
* Ri Jong-ok
* Pak Song-chol
* Kim Yong-ju
* Kim Yong-nam
* Choe Kwang
* Kye Ung-thae
* Chon Pyong-ho
* Han Song-yong
* So Yun-sok [zh]
* Kim Chol-man
* Choe Tae-pok
* Choe Yong-nim
* Hong Song-nam
* Yang Hyong-sop
* Hong Sok-hyong
* Yon Hyon-muk

## Awards and honors

A frame with O's awards and honors was displayed during his funeral, showing all the decorations he had received.
Hero of the Republic, twice
Order of Kim Il Sung, three times
Order of the National Flag First Class, thirteen times
Order of Freedom and Independence First Class, seven times
Order of Korean Labour, four times
Commemorative Order "Foundation of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea"
Commemorative Order "Anniversary of the Foundation of the People's Army"
Order of Military Service Honour First Class
Commemorative Order "30th Anniversary of the Agricultural Presentation"
Order of the National Flag Second Class, three times
Order of Freedom and Independence Second Class, twice
Order of the National Flag Third Class, twice
Commemorative Order "Capital Construction"
Commemorative Order "60th Anniversary of the People's Army"
Commemorative Order "40th Anniversary of Fatherland Liberation War Victory"
Commemorative Medal "Fatherland Liberation"
Commemorative Medal "The Foundation of the People's Republic of Korea", twice
Medal For Military Merit
Medal of Military Service Honour

## 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. Vol. 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.