The party committee of Ryongchon county in North Pyongan province recently held an executive council meeting to address an order directly from Kim Jong Un prohibiting officials from imposing unofficial fees on citizens to fund political events.<\/p>\n
“Ryongchon county’s party committee convened its executive council on Feb. 24 after receiving an order ratified by Kim Jong Un ahead of the Day of the Shining Star,” a Daily NK source in North Pyongan province said recently, referring to the holiday marking Kim Jong Il’s birthday on Feb. 16. “The meeting addressed an incident involving model farm workers during their recent Pyongyang tour and included a report responding to the ratified task.”<\/p>\n
The source explained the incident that triggered Kim’s order: During a tour of Pyongyang, model farm workers were scheduled to pay respects at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, the mausoleum of former leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il. However, an agricultural official from Hwanghae province demanded money from the workers, supposedly as a fee to participate in the memorial ceremony. Farmers unable to pay were barred from entering the mausoleum.<\/p>\n
When this incident was reported to Kim Jong Un, he reportedly became furious and ordered severe party punishment for those responsible, calling it “a rash act that besmirched the pure loyalty of our people” and “anti-people behavior.”<\/p>\n
After learning that collecting money for political events had become widespread, Kim issued a party-wide directive against imposing such unofficial financial burdens on citizens.<\/p>\n
The Ryongchon party committee’s executive council subsequently called for an end to these practices and warned that officials involved would face harsh party criticism and punishment.<\/p>\n
However, party officials have privately complained about the new measures, feeling they’ve been unfairly singled out for blame.<\/p>\n
“Party officials complain that collecting money for political events isn’t limited to specific workplaces, and without these unofficial fees, they don’t know how to fund the numerous political events they’re required to organize,” the source said. “They grumble that the events must continue regardless, while they’ve been left in a difficult position\u2014having to prepare these events while carefully navigating the expectations of their superiors.”<\/p>\n
Local residents finally understood why officials seemed unusually cautious and didn’t openly solicit money during this year’s Day of the Shining Star celebrations.<\/p>\n
“Most people didn’t realize why officials refrained from requesting cash or wreaths for this year’s Day of the Shining Star events,” the source added. “Even fewer knew because Kim’s order wasn’t publicly announced.”<\/p>\n
The Rodong Sinmun newspaper published an article on Feb. 1 about model agricultural workers touring Pyongyang, stating: “The agricultural workers visited Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, where President Kim Il Sung and Chairman Kim Jong Il lay in state, paid their respects and pledged a new resolve while sharing last year’s agricultural production results.”<\/p>\n