Born in Hwanghaenam-do on October 27, 1951, he graduated from Kim Chaek University of Technology. In March 1993, he was head of the Metal Industry Department, and in November 1995, he became president of the Black Metal Import and Export Company, and in April 1998, he became the Vice Chairman of the Metal Industry Department. In September of the same year, he was appointed to the Cabinet Metal Machinery Industry Ministry. In September 2003, he retired from the metal machinery industry when he became the deputy Premier of North Korea. In December 2007, he served as Chairman of the North of the North-South Economic Cooperation Committee. After becoming a member of the Minister of Metal Industry in November 2011, he was appointed Deputy Prime Minister in August of the following year. After retiring from the Metal Industry Ministry in October of the same year, he served as the party secretary of the North Hamgyong Province from April 2014 to October 2017. In May 2016, he was appointed a member of the 7th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea at the 7th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea.