From civil-rights lawyer of the March 1st Movement to first Chairman of the DPRK Supreme People's Assembly: a progressive nationalist
When he submitted a motion of non-prosecution during the March 1st Movement trial, the Japanese courtroom erupted in protest — and the scene, reported nationwide, made Ho Hon the symbol of the anti-colonial lawyer.
One of the first lawyers of the Korean Empire (1907), he defended 47 national representatives in the March 1st Movement trial and was honoured alongside Kim Byong-ro and Yi In as one of the 'three great civil-rights lawyers.' Elected chairman of Singanhoe's Central Executive Committee in 1927, he led the united-front independence struggle and after liberation served as Vice Chairman of the Preparatory Committee for Korean Independence and Prime Minister of the People's Republic of Korea. He led the South Korean Workers' Party (1946–1948), then crossed north for the inter-Korean negotiations, becoming the first Chairman of the Supreme People's Assembly and first President of Kim Il Sung University, a progressive nationalist who bridged the independence movement and the socialist left in modern Korean history.
Career Timeline
- 1907Passed the first Korean Empire bar examination
- 1919Defended March 1st Movement leaders; President, Korean Bar Association
- 1927Chairman, Central Executive Committee of Singanhoe
- 1945Vice Chairman, Preparatory Committee; Prime Minister, People's Republic of Korea
- 1946Chairman, South Korean Workers' Party
- 1948Chairman, Supreme People's Assembly; President, Kim Il Sung University