Former South Korean Prez Roh commits suicide

Seoul, May 23: Former South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun reportedly committed suicide by jumping to his death while hiking in the mountains behind his rural southern home.

Roh who was 62 had been hiking in the village of Bongha on Saturday morning when he threw himself off a mountainside rock, lawyer Moon Jae-in said. As per media reports, the former leader called life 'difficult' and apologized for making 'too many people suffer' in his suicide note.

Roh was rushed to a local hospital at around 8 AM local time and was declared dead about an hour later.

The ex-president was caught up in a corruption scndal and was questioned last month in a bribery investigation. State prosecutors had questioned Roh for about 13 hours about allegations that he accepted more than 6 million dollars in bribes from a detained South Korean businessman while in office. This incident that is learnt to have deeply shamed him, is seen as the prime motive behind the suicide.

President Lee Myung-bak on Saturday, May 23 expressed his regret over the 'truly hard to believe' news and called Roh's death 'sad and tragic'.

OneIndia News