Hong was formerly the chief engineer at the Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center.[1] Currently he is the deputy director of the party's Machine Building Industry Department (MBID),[2] where he has worked since the mid-2000s.[3] Since 2010, he has been the number two man of Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) secretary Pak To-chun.[4] Hong's background is in manufacture and production rather than development and research, as opposed to his superior in the MBID, Ju Kyu-chang.[5]