Yi Han-yong

Who was Yi Han-yong?

Yi Han-yong, birth name Ri Il-nam, was a North Korean defector. 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. 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.

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.