South Korea’s Ministry of Interior and Safety announced the appointment of Jin Bong-heon, a lawyer from the First Law Office, as the Governor of Hamgyongnamdo Province, one of the five former provinces of North Korea. This appointment, made on February 26th, is part of a long-standing practice of symbolically maintaining administrative structures for areas now under North Korean control. The ministry also appointed a professor, whose name was not disclosed in this report, as the Governor of Hamgyongbukdo Province. These positions are largely ceremonial, intended to preserve a connection to the North Korean regions and their diasporic communities in the South. The appointments reflect South Korea’s continued, albeit symbolic, claim to the territories lost during the Korean War. These provincial governor roles do not hold actual administrative power over the North Korean territories. The appointments aim to maintain cultural and historical ties with the regions.