Kwon Ri-se (Hangul: 권리세; August 16, 1991 – September 7, 2014) better known by her stage name Rise (stylized as RiSe), was a South Korean idolsinger.

She was a member of the K-pop girl group Ladies' Code under Polaris Entertainment. Prior to her joining Ladies' Code, she participated in Miss Korea 2009 and was crowned as "Miss Korea Japan Jin". She was also most notably known for being one of the Top 12 contestants of MBC'sStar Audition The Great Birth. Born in Fukushima, Japan, she was fluent in both her native languages, Japanese and Korean.

Biography

Kwon was born in Japan and is the fourth generation of Korean Japanese in Japan. She attended Fukushima Korea Junior High School (福島朝鮮初中級学校), Tokyo Korean School (東京韓国学校) and completed her university education at Seikei University in Economics, Business Administration. Before joining Ladies' Code, Kwon was also active as a model and previously participated in Miss Korea 2009 as a Japan representative. She signed with Key East after Star Audition The Great Birth in 2011.

In 2011, Kwon appeared in the third season of MBC's reality show We Got Married, where she was paired up with former Birth of a Great Starcontestant, David Oh. She also filmed a LG commercial for LG Optimus 3D with David Oh in the same year.

In 2013, Kwon's contract with KeyEast expired and she went on and signed an contract with Polaris Entertainment as she wished to pursue a music career. In an interview with a representative of Polaris Entertainment, they revealed that Kwon was preparing for her debut in a girl group.

Music career

2013: Music debut with Ladies' Code On February 24, 2013, the teaser for Kwon was released on Polaris Entertainment official YouTube channel. After a series of video teasers of the members of Ladies' Code, the music video for their debut was released on March 6, 2013. Their debut mini album, Code#1 Bad Girl was released on March 7, 2013, through online music stores and the group performed on M! Countdown on the same day. 2014: Ladies' Code car accident

On September 3, 2014, Kwon was critically injured in a car accident. The group was returning to Seoul after attending the recording of “KBS Open Concert” in Daegu (and thus completing promotions for "Kiss Kiss"), when at 1:30AM (KST) around Suwon, a vehicle in front of the group's van began skidding due to the rain, and "the back tire of the group's van [fell off]" as the group's manager (who was driving the van) attempted to avoid a collision with the other vehicle. Rainy conditions made the road slippery, which caused the group's van to hydroplane and skid several times before crashing into a protective wall in the vicinity of the Singal Junction on the Yeongdong Expressway.

It was reported that none of the van's airbags deployed at the time of impact. By the time the paramedics arrived at the scene, Kwon's injuries were so severe that the paramedics were unable to immediately tell who she was.

Her bandmates Ashley and Zuny sustained minor injuries while bandmate Sojung sustained major injuries. Bandmate EunB was killed in the accident. The group's manager and one stylist also sustained minor injuries.

Death

Kwon was immediately taken to The Catholic University of Korea St. Vincent's Hospital, where she was given emergency CPR before being immediately taken into surgery due to suffering severe cranial and abdominal injuries. The surgeons operated on her cranial area three times while also having to resuscitate her via defibrillation during the procedures. In the midst of a fourth procedure (for her back) in her 11th hour of surgery, Kwon's blood pressure began to drop very rapidly, making it unsafe to continue. Thus, she was moved to the intensive care unit, where she remained in critical condition. It was reported that her brain was severely swollen and that she was not regaining consciousness, with the doctors closely monitoring her condition in order safely resume surgery.

Kwon eventually succumbed to her injuries at 10:10AM KST on September 7, 2014 in Aju University Hospital, having never woken up from her coma.

Discography

Ladies' Code Filmography Television series

2010–2011Star Audition The Great Birth Herself MBC Top 12 contestant

2011We Got Married Herself With David Oh World Changing Quiz Show Guest N/A

2013 Splash HerselfIt's a Person QHerself 1000 Song Challenge Herself SBS unning Man Guest Episode 149 Mamma Mia Guest KBS Episode 9