Career

Ri studied at Kim Il-sung University. He was elevated to the Central Committee of the Korean Workers' Party in 1973 as director of the organisation bureau; Kim Jong-il

Kim Jong-il

Kim Jong-il, also written as Kim Jong Il, birth name Yuri Irsenovich Kim born 16 February 1941 or 16 February 1942 , is the Supreme Leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea...

'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. He had a long rivalry with Chang Sung-taek

Chang Sung-taek

Chang Sung-taek, is a North Korean politician and the brother-in-law of Kim Jong-il. He is a leading figure in the North Korean government, and South Korean government officials and academic North Korea watchers suggested that he may have taken on de facto leadership over North Korea due to Kim...

.

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. In particular, Andrei Lankov

Andrei Lankov

Andrei Nikolaevich Lankov is a Russian scholar of Asia and a specialist in Korean studies. He completed his undergraduate and graduate studies at Leningrad State University in 1986 and 1989, respectively; He also attended Pyongyang's Kim Il-sung University in 1985...

 of Kookmin University

Kookmin University

Kookmin University is a private university located in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, South Korea.Kookmin University currently includes an academic family of 22,000 students, about 800 faculty members and 350 administrative staff...

 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. 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.