30 Facts About Ho Ka-i

Alexei Ivanovich Hegai, known as Ho Ka-i, was a Soviet political operative in North Korea and leader of the Soviet Korean faction within the early political structure of North Korea.

Ho Ka-i was the second vice-chairman of the DPRK Politburo from 1949 until he was purged.

Ho Ka-i allegedly killed himself in Pyongyang and was replaced as leader by Pak Chang-ok.

Aleksei Ivanovich Hegai, known as Ho Ka-i, was born on 18 March 1908 in Khabarovsk in Russia.

Ho Ka-i's father was a teacher at a Korean school in the Russian Empire.

Ho Ka-i was never given a Korean name when he was born, unlike many Russian Koreans.

Ho Ka-i was orphaned at a young age; his mother died in 1911 and a few months later his father died by suicide.

In 1920, at the age of twelve, Ho Ka-i began working at a tobacco factory in Khabarovsk to bring in some money to help support the family.

Ho Ka-i started to get involved in communist politics, as a way for his family to try to get out of the lower class.

Not long after Ho Ka-i joined the Communist Party, he became well known for his intelligence and remarkable organizational skills, soon becoming the secretary of the Far Eastern committee of the Soviet Communist Youth League.

In 1933, Ho Ka-i left for Moscow, studying at the Sverdlov All-Union Communist Agriculture University.

Ho Ka-i was sent to Korea to help create the Communist Party there.

Ho Ka-i was elected to represent the Soviet Occupation Authorities.

At a Second Party Congress Session from March 27 to 30,1948, Ho Ka-i delivered an unscheduled speech, condemning some officials, who had previously apologized, for not admitting their mistakes.

Ho Ka-i accused O Ki-sop and Ch'oe Young-dal for being prideful and defending themselves at the cost of party progress, going so far as to accuse O Ki Sop of his attitude and individual heroism.

Ho Ka-i claimed that because they had apologized without admitting that they were wrong, the men were just doing what they were supposed to and not really sorry and thus, would make the same decisions again.

In Korea, Ho Ka-i rapidly moved up the ranks of the North Korean communist leadership.

The Soviet authorities thought Ho Ka-i to be an expert in organization, causing him to move up in party ranks.

Ho Ka-i was third in ranking, only behind the chairman and Pak Hon-yong, the vice-chairman.

Nina Tsoi and Ho Ka-i were married on 1 January 1949.

In September 1951, Kim Il Sung and Ho Ka-i had a dispute over how to reorganize the tattered party and how to handle party members who were not completely loyal.

Ho Ka-i, who was the chair of the inspection committee, did the exact opposite, conducting indiscriminate purges of low-ranking party members to check their loyalty to the Party.

Numbers from North Korea suggest that Ho Ka-i expelled and punished over 450,000 of the party's 600,000 members during the war.

Kim Il Sung felt that Ho Ka-i was using harsh measures, punishing any member who failed to show the newly issued membership card, but Ho Ka-i failed to cooperate.

Ho Ka-i opted to follow the Soviet Union model while Kim Il Sung wanted the mass party which the Soviet occupation authorities suggested.

Ho Ka-i, according to Kim Il Sung at a later date, had desired an elite communist party while Kim wanted a strong mass party that built up all of the country's unique features.

Later, Kim Il Sung reinstated all the expelled members and Ho Ka-i, instead was purged.

Kim Il Sung took advantage of Ho Ka-i's misfortune, ridiculing Ho Ka-i about party matters as well as accusing him of being secretive and acting on personal heroism.

In November 1951, Ho Ka-i was removed from his posts.

At the sixth joint plenum of the Central Committee on 4 August 1953, it was reported that Ho Ka-i had killed himself.