Ra Jong-yil (Korean: 라종일; born 1940) is a former South Korean ambassador who has authored books on politics concerning North Korea.

Ra Jong-yil
Born1940
NationalitySouth Korean
Alma mater
Korean name
Hangul
라종일
Hanja
Revised RomanizationRa Jongil
McCune–ReischauerRa Chongil

Education

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Ra received a PhD at the University of Cambridge.[1]

Career

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Ra served as South Korea's ambassador to the United Kingdom from 2001 to 2003 and as its ambassador to Japan from 2004 to 2007.[1]

Works

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In 2013, Ra released a book about Kang Min-chul – the only person who ever admitted involvement with an attempt to assassinate the South Korean president in 1983 – whom Ra described as "one of the countless young men sacrificed in the long rivalry between the two Koreas and then forgotten".[2]

Ra's 2016 book, The Path Taken by Jang Song‑thaek: A Rebellious Outsider, made claims that Kim Jong‑il did not intend for his son, Kim Jong‑un, to succeed him after he died.[3]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Jongyil Ra". Seoul: Hanyang University. Archived from the original on 26 January 2016.
  2. ^ Choe, Sang-hun (23 November 2013). "Forgotten Killer Among the Korean 'Erased'". The New York Times. p. A10. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 13 March 2015.
  3. ^ Ryall, Julian (23 January 2016). "Kim Jong‑un's father wanted to end hereditary rule, top spy reveals". The Telegraph. London. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on 25 January 2016.