Ri Je-gang

Ri Je-gang
Chosŏn'gŭl 리제강
Hancha 李濟剛[1]
Revised Romanization Ri Je-gang
McCune–Reischauer Ri Jegang

Ri Je-gang (1930 – 2 June 2010) was a North Korean politician.[2]

Career

Ri studied at Kim Il-sung University. He was elevated to the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) in 1973 as head of the Organization and Guidance Department (OGD); Kim Jong-il's takeover of the bureau later that year set the stage for his friendship with Ri. He became a deputy chief of the same bureau as well as Kim's personal secretary in 1982; he was elevated to first deputy chief in 1999.[3] He had a long rivalry with Jang Sung-taek.[2]

Ri reportedly directed many of the purges of senior government officials which took place during Kim Jong-il's reign. Ri reportedly imposed capital punishment on many of those purged, in spite of recommendations from his subordinates for lesser punishments such as reeducation.[4]

Death

Ri died due to injuries sustained in a car crash; there were different theories about the cause, including speculation that it may have been foul play.[2] In particular, Andrei Lankov of Kookmin University called the death suspicious, pointing to the lack of traffic in North Korea, and described the death as "part of a long tradition" of politicians being killed in mysterious traffic incidents.[5] In contrast, North Korea analyst Lee Sang-hyun of the Sejong Institute suspected a more innocent explanation, that Ri may have been driving under the influence of alcohol after returning from a party held by Kim Jong-il, and found himself unable to control his vehicle on poorly lit and poorly maintained roads.[2]

References

  1. ↑ 安勇炫 (2010-06-04), "北韓勞動党第一副部長李濟剛車禍喪生", Chosun Ilbo, retrieved 2010-06-08
  2. 1 2 3 4 Choe, Sang-hun (2010-06-05), "N. Korea Reports Death of Official Guiding Succession", The New York Times, retrieved 2010-06-08
  3. ↑ Profile: Ri Je-gang, Korean Broadcasting System, retrieved 2010-06-08
  4. ↑ "North Korean Leader Redeems Honor Of Six Purged Senior Officials", Mainichi Shimbun, 2 May 2012, archived from the original on 15 June 2012, retrieved 5 December 2015
  5. ↑ Lankov, Andrei (2010-06-16), "Son rising for a post Dear Leader era", Asia Times Online, retrieved 2010-06-19


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