this time the party had effectively ceased to function as an independent entity. No provincial organization of the party existed, just a formal central nucleus. Pak Sindok, previously the head of the Organizational Department of the party, took over the party leadership. The Chondoist Chongu Party is sometimes invoked in North Korean propaganda targeting foreigners, but much less so than the Korean Social Democratic Party. The reason is that Ch'ŏndogyo has fallen into relative obscurity even in South Korea, while social democracy continues to be an accepted political ideology abroad. In 1986, the former South Korean foreign minister Choe Deok-sin defected to the North, becoming a leader of the Chondoist Chongu Party. Recent leadership In 2001 and 2012, the chairwoman of the party's central committee was Ryu Mi-yong. She was also a member of the presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly (), chairwoman of the Central Guidance Committee of the Chondoist Association of Korea (in 2010) and chairwoman of the Council for the Reunification of Tangun's Nation (in 2012). Ryu died in November 2016, leaving the post vacant. As of 2019, the vice chairman of the party's central committee was Ri Myong-chol. He was preceded by Yun Jong-ho. Ri is the central committee chairman. According to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency in 2006, the party remains under the control of the Workers' Party of Korea. The party obtained 22 out of 687 seats in the Supreme People's Assembly in the latest elections, held in 2019. Electoral history Supreme People's Assembly elections See also Korean Social Democratic Party List of political parties in North Korea Notes References Other sources External links 1946 establishments in Korea Political parties established in 1946 Religious political parties Socialist parties in North Korea Workers' Party of Korea Cheondoism