Yi Han-yeong (; 2 April 1960 – 25 February 1997), birth name Yi Il-nam (), was a

North Korean defector People defect from North Korea for political, material, and personal reasons. Defectors flee to various countries, mainly South Korea. In South Korea, they are referred to by several terms, including "northern refugees" and "new settlers". To ...

who was the nephew of the country's leader,

Kim Jong Il Kim Jong Il (born Yuri Kim; 16 February 1941 or 1942 – 17 December 2011) was a North Korean politician who was the second Supreme Leader (North Korean title), supreme leader of North Korea from Death and state funeral of Kim Il Sung, the de ...

. After his defection in 1982, he went into hiding for a number of years, before going public in support of Seong Hye-rim, his aunt and Kim's mistress or wife, and wrote a book about his experiences in exile, after which he was murdered by unknown assailants.

Early life

Yi's mother,

Seong Hye-rang Seong Hye-rang (; born 1937) is a North Korean defector and author. Early life Her father was a wealthy South Korean landowner who moved to the North for political reasons, while her mother was an editor of the official North Korean newspaper '' ...

, raised

's and her younger sister Hye-rim's son

Kim Jong-nam Kim Jong-nam (, ; 10 May 1971 – 13 February 2017) was the eldest son of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il. From roughly 1994 to 2001, he was considered the heir apparent to his father. He was thought to have fallen out of favor after embarras ...

alongside Yi and Yi's sister Nam-ok at a secluded villa outside of

Pyongyang Pyongyang () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is sometimes labeled as the "Capital of the Revolution" (). Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. Accordi ...

in order to keep Jong-nam's parentage a secret from

Kim Il Sung Kim Il Sung (born Kim Song Ju; 15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was a North Korean politician and the founder of North Korea, which he led as its first Supreme Leader (North Korean title), supreme leader from North Korea#Founding, its establishm ...

Song Hye-rim Song Hye-rim (; 24 January 1939 18 May 2002) was a North Korean actress, best known for being the one-time favored mistress of Kim Jong Il. Early life and education Song was born in Changnyeong, Keishōnan Province, Korea under Japanese rule, K ...

is described as the former wife of Kim Jong Il, though it is unclear whether they were actually married. Yi went abroad to

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

for a university education, and then defected to South Korea in 1982 while studying at a language school in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. His defection in 1982 had been kept secret due to his connections. He underwent plastic surgery and changed his name to conceal his identity. His identity was revealed when he had told newspapers he was financially supporting his aunt's defection who was in Moscow.

Life in South Korea

His life in the South was troubled. He first studied drama at

Hanyang University Hanyang University (HYU, ) is a Private university, private research university in Seoul and Ansan (ERICA campus), South Korea. ''Hanyang'' () derives from the Names of Seoul, former name of the capital Seoul used during the Joseon period. The u ...

, and married in 1988; however, in March 1993, 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, Yi 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''.

Death by shooting

Yi was shot on 15 February 1997 near his home in

Bundang Bundang () is a planned community in Bundang District, Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. It was developed to encourage affordable housing and urban decentralization. The community has a sports complex, a park and a youth center. Origi ...

Seongnam Seongnam (; ) is the fourth largest city in South Korea's Gyeonggi Province after Suwon and the 10th largest city in the country. Its population is approximately one million. It consists of three administrative districts: Bundang District, J ...

by two assailants who were never caught; they were suspected of being members of the

Korean People's Army The Korean People's Army (KPA; ) encompasses the combined military forces of North Korea and the armed wing of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK). The KPA consists of five branches: the Korean People's Army Ground Force, Ground Force, the Ko ...

's Special Forces based on analysis of the bullets taken from Yi'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 ten days later (25 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 Hwang Jang-yop (; 17 February 192310 October 2010) was a North Korean politician who defected to South Korea. He served as the Chairman of the Supreme People's Assembly from 1972 to 1983 and was largely responsible for crafting ''Juche'', the ...

, who at the time was living in the South Korean embassy in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

. The publication of Yi's 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.

Publications

* **Republished as

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yi, Han-yong Deaths by firearm in South Korea Hanyang University alumni North Korean defectors North Korean expatriates in the Soviet Union North Korean expatriates in Switzerland 1960 births 1997 deaths North Korean people murdered abroad People murdered in South Korea People from Pyongyang Kim family (North Korea)