In August 1945, with Japanese surrender imminent, Cho was approached by the Japanese governor of Pyongyang and asked to organise a committee to assume control and maintain stability in the power vacuum that would inevitably follow.[11] He agreed to co-operate, and on 17 August 1945 formed the Provisional People's Committee for the Five Provinces. The committee functioned to standardize the number of members, duties, and electoral processes for the formation of People’s Committees at the provincial, city, country, township, and village levels.[12] Cho also affiliated this committee to the Committee for the Preparation of Korean Independence (CPKI).[13] The Provisional People’s Committee for the Five Provinces generally composed of right-wing nationalists opposed to communism.[14]