Ri Han-yong

Infobox Korean name
context=north
hangul=리한영 (S. 이한영)
hanja=李韓永cite news|url=http://www.munhwa.com/news/view.html?no=1997021930000401|publisher=Munhwa Ilbo|date=1997-02-19|last=Geo|first=Jae|title=이한영씨 피격 수사 ‘갈팡질팡’ (Investigation into shooting of Mr. Yi Han-yong 'incoherent')]
mr=Ri Han-yŏng
(S. Yi Han-yŏng)
rr=Ri Han-yeong
(S. Yi Han-yeong)
hangulborn=리일남 (S. 이일남)
hanjaborn=!
mrborn=Ri Il-nam
(S. Yi Il-nam)
rrborn=Ri Il-nam
(S. Yi Il-nam)

Ri Han-yong, birth name Ri Il-nam, was a North Korean defector.cite news|url=http://www.dailynk.com/korean/read.php?cataId=nk00400&num=37604|date=2007-02-26|accessdate=2007-10-30|title=이한영 피살 10년 추도식 (Memorial service for 10th anniversary of Yi Han-yong's murder)|publisher=The Daily NK|last=Gim|first=Song-a] His mother Song Hye-rang's younger sister Song Hye-rim was a mistress of Kim Jong-il; Ri's mother raised Kim Jong-il's and Hye-rim's son Kim Jong-nam alongside Ri and Ri's sister Nam-ok at a secluded villa outside of Pyongyang in order to keep Jong-nam's parentage a secret from Kim Il-sung.cite news|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,460254-1,00.html|publisher=Time Magazine|title=Secret Lives|last=Lee|first=Adriana S.|date=2003-06-23|accessdate=2007-10-29] He went abroad to Moscow for university, and then defected to South Korea in 1982 while studying at a language school in Switzerland. After defecting, he initially attempted to keep his identity a secret, changing his name and even going as far as undergoing plastic surgery. His life in the South was troubled. He first studied drama at Hanyang University, and married in 1989; however, in 1991, a construction company he started went bankrupt, and he was jailed for 10 months on charges of embezzlement.cite news|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D01E6D7103FF934A25751C0A961958260|publisher=The New York Times|title=Korean shooting is casting cloud on signs of thaw|last=Pollack|first=Andrew|date=1997-02-17|accessdate=2007-10-30]

In 1996, due to his ongoing financial difficulties, Ri made his identity as Kim Jong-il's nephew known publicly, selling the story of his aunt Song Hye-rim's exile in Moscow to South Korean newspapers, and then publishing a book about his experiences entitled "Taedong River Royal Family". He was shot on 15 February, 1997 near his home in Bundang, Gyeonggi-do by two assailants who were never caught; they were suspected to be members of the Korean People's Army's Special Forces based on analysis of the bullets taken from Ri's body, which were fired from a Belgian-made Browning pistol. He was taken to hospital and kept on life-support, but succumbed to his wounds on 26 February. South Korean prime minister Lee Soo Sung initially stated that the attack was an act of retaliation for the defection of Hwang Jang-yop, who at the time was living in the South Korean embassy in Beijing. The publication of his tell-all book and the defection of his mother in Switzerland the previous year may have served as additional factors in making him a target of the regime in the North. Others speculated at the time that his murder was not politically-motivated, but was instead related to his gambling debts or a dispute with a lover. [cite news|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A0DE7D8113FF93BA25751C0A961958260|title=Allied Friction in Korea|date=1997-02-18|last=Pollack|first=Andrew|accessdate=2007-10-30|publisher=The New York Times]

Publications

*cite book|last=Yi|first=Han-yong|title=대동강 로열패밀리 서울잠행 14년 (Taedong River Royal Family; my 14 years incognito in Seoul)|date=1996|id=ISBN 8970901108|publisher=Donga Ilbo
**Republished as cite book|last=Yi|first=Han-yong|title=김정일 로열패밀리 (Kim Jong-il's Royal Family)|id=ISBN 8990959063|publisher=Sidae Jeongsin|date=2005

References