  A polymorph of RuI$_3$ synthesized under high pressure was found to have a
two-layered honeycomb structure. The resistivity of RuI$_3$ exhibits a
semimetallic behavior, in contrast to insulating properties in
$\alpha$-RuCl$_3$. In addition, Pauli paramagnetic behavior was observed in the
temperature dependence of a magnetic susceptibility and a nuclear spin-lattice
relaxation rate 1/$T_1$. The band structure calculations indicate that
contribution of the I 5$p$ components to the low-energy $t_\mathrm{2g}$ bands
effectively decreases Coulomb repulsion, leading to semimetallic properties.
The physical properties also suggest strong electron correlations in RuI$_3$.
