Sim Chol-ho

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Sim Chol-ho

| image = Sim Chol-ho.jpg

| image_size = 220px

| office = Deputy of the Supreme People's Assembly from Ongjin

| order =

| native_name = 심철호

| native_name_lang = ko

| constituency = 315

| leader = Kim Jong Un

| predecessor =

| successor =

| termend = October 2014

| termstart = March 2014

| leader2 = Kim Jong Il
Kim Jong Un

| office2 = Vice Minister of Post and Telecommunications of North Korea

| party = Workers' Party of Korea

| leader1 = Kim Jong Un

| office1 = Minister of Post and Telecommunications of North Korea

| successor1 = Kim Kwang-chol

| termend1 = October 2014

| termstart1 = January 2012

| termend2 = December 2011

| termstart2 = December 2008

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1960|07|05|df=yes}}

| birth_place = North Korea

| death_date = October 2014 (unconfirmed)

| death_place = North Korea

| nationality = {{flag|North Korea}}

| children = 2

| alma_mater = Kim Il Sung University (M.Eng.)

}}

Sim Chol-ho ({{Korean|hangul=심철호}}; 5 July 1960 – October 2014) was a North Korean engineer and politician. He was a member of the Supreme People's Assembly and served as the Minister of Post and Telecommunications beginning in 2012. He has not been seen in public since October 2014, when he and six other officials disappeared in a purge connected to Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un. He was reportedly executed, though his death is unconfirmed.

Early life and education

Sim was born on 5 July 1960.{{Cite web|url=http://www.connectaspsummit.org/media/bio_data/CV_Minister_SIM_CHOL_HO.pdf|title=Curriculum Vitae of Mr. Sim Chol Ho|date=2013-11-20|website=Connect Asia-Pacific Summit|access-date=2017-11-23|archive-date=2016-08-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160815175155/http://connectaspsummit.org/media/bio_data/CV_Minister_SIM_CHOL_HO.pdf|url-status=dead}} He studied at the Faculty of Automation at Kim Il Sung University in Pyongyang between September 1982 and August 1987, where he received his Master of Engineering.

Career

From September 1987 to April 1995, Sim was the chief engineer at the Central Info-Communication Bureau. From May 1995 to November 2008, he worked as a manager and director of the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications. In December 2008, he was made Vice Minister of Post and Telecommunications, a position he held until December 2011. In 2010, he was named a member of the Central Auditing Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea.{{Cite news|url=http://www.nkleadershipwatch.org/2010/09/29/party-conference-held/|title=Party Conference Held|date=2010-09-29|work=North Korea Leadership Watch|access-date=2017-11-22|language=en-US}}{{Cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JOOi64jEcakC&pg=PA44|last=Gause|first=Ken|chapter=The Role and Influence of the Party Apparatus|title=North Korea in Transition: Politics, Economy, and Society|editor-last=Park|editor-first=Kyung-Ae|editor-last2=Snyder|editor-first2=Scott|date=2013|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=9781442218123|pages=44|language=en}}

In January or February 2012, he became Minister of Post and Telecommunications. In that office, one of his main roles was overseeing the North Korean mobile phone network, Koryolink. In April 2013, he was reconfirmed as minister by the 13th Supreme People's Assembly. This was the last time he appeared in state media.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nknews.org/2014/11/october-state-media-treats-all-as-normal-as-kim-jong-un-ends-absence/|title=October: State media treats all as normal as Kim Jong Un ends absence|date=2014-11-10|work=NK News|access-date=2017-11-22|language=en-US|archive-date=2017-12-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201033846/https://www.nknews.org/2014/11/october-state-media-treats-all-as-normal-as-kim-jong-un-ends-absence/|url-status=dead}} In March 2014, Sim was elected to the Supreme People's Assembly for the Ongjin constituency. He, along with other close associates of the late Kim Jong Il, were reportedly put in the Assembly to help maintain a stable relationship between Kim Jong Un and older leading officials.{{Cite news|url=https://nicolaslevi.wordpress.com/2014/03/21/some-left-but-some-stay-a-quick-review-of-the-election-to-the-spa/|title=Some left but some stay: a quick review of the election to the SPA|date=2014-03-21|work=Leadership and Economy of North Korea|access-date=2017-11-22|language=en-US|archive-date=2017-12-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201044021/https://nicolaslevi.wordpress.com/2014/03/21/some-left-but-some-stay-a-quick-review-of-the-election-to-the-spa/|url-status=dead}}

2014 purge and reported execution

On 23 October 2014, a source told the South Korean newspaper JoongAng Ilbo that they had received "reliable information" that six minister-level officials had been purged from the government and executed.{{citation needed|date=May 2021}} Among the ministers listed were Sim, Ma Won-chun, General Ri Pyong-chol, Chang Ung, and Ri Yong-gil.{{citation needed|date=May 2021}} Sim did not appear often in state media, but his absence from a meeting of North Korean officials with Naguib Sawiris, head of the Egyptian company Orascom Telecom, which provides North Korea's mobile network, was considered unusual.{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/11181611/Six-officials-disappear-in-latest-Pyongyang-purges.html|title=Six officials 'disappear' in latest Pyongyang purges|last=Ryall|first=Julian|date=2014-10-23|work=The Telegraph|access-date=2017-11-22|language=en-GB|issn=0307-1235}} He has not been seen publicly since 2014, but his execution remains unconfirmed.{{Cite news|url=http://www.theweek.co.uk/kim-jong-un/60578/kim-jong-nam-murder-malaysia-sends-north-korean-suspects-home/page/0/4|title=Kim Jong Nam: accused assassins plead not guilty|date=2017-10-02|work=The Week UK|access-date=2017-11-22|language=en|archive-date=2017-12-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201042249/http://www.theweek.co.uk/kim-jong-un/60578/kim-jong-nam-murder-malaysia-sends-north-korean-suspects-home/page/0/4|url-status=dead}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2016/02/10/north-korea-executions/80173970/|title=North Korea executions under Kim Jong Un|work=USA TODAY|access-date=2017-11-22|language=en}}