South Korean Ex-President Kills Himself

by 158 | May 22, 2009 at 08:32 pm

970 views | 55 Recommendations | 8 comments

He was facing possible

corruption charges. I

will check for updates.

Former President Roh Moo-hyun of South Korea, whose reputation as an upstanding political leader had been tarnished recently by a corruption scandal, committed suicide on Saturday by jumping off a cliff near his retirement home, according to his aides and the police.

Here is a report from Korea.

Former President Roh Moo-hyun jumped to his death off a mountainside near his home on Saturday, sending shockwaves throughout the nation.

Roh, 62, was under investigation over allegations that his family received more than $6 million from a businessman. Roh was president from 2003-2008.

Roh left behind a suicide note to his family saying, “It has been too hard.”

Roh suffered fatal head injuries after falling about 30 meters from a cliff near his home in Gimhae, some 400 kilometers south of Seoul.

"Former President Roh left his house at 5:45 a.m. and while hiking on Mount Bonghwa, appears to have jumped off a rock at around 6:40 a.m.,” former top secretary Moon Jae-in told reporters at Pusan National University Hospital.

Roh was pronounced dead at 9:30 a.m., he said.

The former leader, who was hailed for his anti-corruption efforts, apologized last month after admitting that his wife received money from his financial backer Park Yeon-cha while he was in office.

His son, the husband of his niece and his key aides were under investigation in the scandal.

The incident tarnished his image a clean leader and damaged ethical credentials of his liberal political circles.

This story is having

a huge impact in South

Korea. It could have

political repercussions if

the public feels Roh was

accused for political reasons.

Roh Moo-hyun lived a remarkable life, rising from a humble background to South Korea's highest office. The circumstances of his death are also remarkable, and deeply shocking.

Newspapers have been publishing special editions, devoted entirely to his career, his political legacy and what is known so far about how he died.

In central Seoul, an impromptu altar has been set up, and hundreds of people, some in tears, queued patiently to take it in turns to kneel on the ground, bow deeply and lay flowers.

Eom Hee-ok told me that she did not consider herself a strong supporter of Mr Roh during his time in office.

"But I felt very sorry for the man when I saw the pictures on television," she said. "The sense of remorse moved my heart, and I just had to come pay my respects."

A reaction from

president Obama.

President Barack Obama said Saturday he was saddened by the death of South Korean former president Roh Moo-hyun, and praised his contributions to South Korean-US ties.

The former president, who was at the center of a multi-million dollar corruption probe, plunged to his death off a mountainside in South Korea Saturday in an apparent suicide.

Police said they were investigating whether Roh, who held office from 2003-2008, killed himself. A former aide said the ex-leader jumped off a cliff after leaving a suicide note.

Obama said, "I was saddened by the news of the death of former President Roh Moo-hyun of the Republic of Korea.

"During his tenure, President Roh contributed to the strong and vital relationship between the United States and the Republic of Korea. On behalf of government of the United States, I offer my condolences to his family and to the Korean people," Obama said in a statement.

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Babel-Fish

at 20:46 on May 22nd, 2009

If he did commit suicide it could be for one of two reasons.

1. He was guilty of corruption.

2. He wanted to take on the responsibility of the corruption of his family.

It he Korean way and for some gut felt reason I fill the later reason may be the case, could it be he did not know about the corruption going on around him?

Harlee777

at 04:15 on May 23rd, 2009

Babel. Perhaps if he didn't committ corruption, he'd still be alive today. And he'd have to be blind to not know there was no corruption going on around him. To me he had 2 choices. Jail for corruption or suicide to avoid jail and shaming his family. Remember, he was a President. The shame of that alone must have driven him to such extremes. Harlee.

Uwe Paschen

at 20:55 on May 22nd, 2009

I agree with Babel, he most likely did commit suicide to save his families honour.

That does not mean that he is guilty. It is more his duty by cultural rules.

Same would apply here in Japan.

Amy Judd

at 21:19 on May 22nd, 2009

Let us know if you get any updates

Mary Richard

at 23:26 on May 22nd, 2009

From KoreaHerald, Former president had a lifetime of victories and setbacks.

Iffy (not verified)

at 04:43 on May 23rd, 2009

I think this is a 'best practice' beacon leader action. It is also a 'lesson learned'. Maybe politicians in the west, like Britain for example, should be so honourable. Sadly, our corrupt people just get richer and then write a book about it justifying their behaviour.

Renu Marley

at 06:58 on May 23rd, 2009

This very sad news as he was a great man who made many changes towards North Korea. I think it is more than that? I am sure he done his best. However, this is a great deed as if he's doen that. Simply goes to show you that he live with his 12.00 Normal 0 false false false EN-GB X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";}

Consciousnesses.

12.00 Normal 0 false false false EN-GB X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";}

Consciousnesses.

Babel-Fish

at 11:03 on May 23rd, 2009

Your pasting comment from msword, A tip: Past the comment from word into notepad and then highlight copy then past in to the comment box on nowpublic.

I also have this problem when I write articles in MSword and then find I have to edit my pasted articles in HTML. of which you can also do if you wish in the comments box to eradicate the MSword richtext code.

Not trying to teach you to such eggs, so if you know the hows and why's please forgive my over helpfullness, lol