Political career

Chang Jae-on was elected as a member of the 13th Supreme People's Assembly.^[2]

President of Korean Catholic Association (KCA)

He served as the president of the Korean Catholic Association since 1988.^[1] In 1998 he handed over an unprecedented written appeal to the Catholic Bishops´ Conference of Korea requesting South Korea´s bishops to refocus aid to the North on long-term assistance for agricultural production, especially electric power, instead of emergency food aid.^[3][4]

He invited Auxiliary Bishop Peter Kang Woo-il of Seoul to visit North Korea, according to an official of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea in 2000.^[5]

He sent condolences on Pope John Paul II as the President of Korean Catholic Association.^[6]

After hearing the bad news, I express my deepest condolences. It is with great sorrow that all Catholic believers in our country are conducting mass in memory of John Paul II. Services are being held in Pyongyang's Changchung Cathedral and in places of worship around the country.^[6]

In 2014, he declined to send North Korean Catholics to attend Pope Francis's mass in Seoul, South Korea due to the start of joint U.S.-South Korean military drills occurring at the same time.^[7]

Red Cross activities

He also functioned as the president of the Red Cross in the DPRK. He served as a humanitarian and mediating role between the South and the North.^[4] According to UCA News, Chang served as the president of the North Korean Red Cross and led a delegation of 100 North Koreans to South Korea in 2000 for family reunions.^[8]

President of the North Korean Council of Religionists

He also served as president of the Korean Council of Religionists, an organization representing officially recognized religious groups in North Korea.^[8][9][10]

Representative of North Korean Catholics in inter-Korean exchanges

He also served as a representative for North Korean Catholics to South Korea and worldwide Catholic institutions. He visited Seoul in 2000 and led 16 North Korean Catholics at a mass in March 2.^[11][12][13]