[CNN+NBC World Top News]Former S. Korean President Roh commits suicide(남한 노무현 전 대통령 자살)

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Former S. Korean President Roh commits suicide

• Story Highlights
• Report: Roh committed suicide by leaping to his death from a hill
  
• He was found with head injuries, and died after being taken to a hospital
  
• Roh's death came amid bribery investigation that has tarnished his reputation

(CNN) -- Former South Korean President Roh Moo-Hyun committed suicide by leaping to his death from a hill behind his house, the state-run Yonhap news agency reported Saturday.

Former South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun served from 2003-2008.

Yonhap cited a former presidential aide, acting as the family's lawyer, who said Roh left a suicide note for his family.

Roh, 62, had gone hiking near his home with an aide around 6:30 a.m. Saturday, Yonhap said.

He was found later with head injuries, and died after being taken to a hospital in Busan, police said. A hospital spokesman declined to comment.

Yonhap said Roh's death came amid an investigation into a bribery scandal that has tarnished his reputation.

Roh, who served as president from 2003 to 2008, and his family had allegedly received $6 million in bribes from a businessman, Yonhap said.

Roh said he learned about the payments only after he left office and that some of them were legitimate investments, Yonhap reported.

Roh had maintained a Web site and attracted supporters and tourists to his hometown, Yonhap said.

CNNNEWS

2009.5.22

Ex-S. Korean president dies in fall; suicide?

Roh had been under investigation in a bribery scandal

Jo Yong-hak / Reuters file

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SEOUL, South Korea - Former President Roh Moo-hyun died Saturday after a fall in the mountains behind his home in southern South Korea, police and hospital officials said.

His top aide said he appears to have jumped to his death.

"Former President Roh left his house at 5:45 a.m. (2045 GMT on Friday) and while hiking on the Ponghwa Mountain, appears to have jumped off a rock at around 6:40 a.m." Moon Jae-in, who was Roh's presidential chief of staff, said in a nationally televised statement

A family lawyer told South Korean media that Roh, 62, left behind a brief suicide note.

Police were trying to confirm‎ whether the fall was an accident or if he committed suicide, Yonhap news agency reported.

The former leader suffered severe head injuries and died at 9:30 a.m. Saturday after being transported from his hometown of Gimhae to a hospital in the southern city of Busan, hospital officials said.

Roh had been under investigation over allegations that he took more than $6 million from a businessman while in office. The bribery scandal involving Roh and his family had tainted his image as a "clean" politician in a country with a long history of corruption.

He was questioned by prosecutors in Seoul last month as part of the probe.

Roh — a former human rights lawyer who served as South Korea's president from 2003 to 2008 — was known for pushing reconciliation efforts with rival North Korea, and traveled to Pyongyang in 2007 for a summit meeting with leader Kim Jong Il.

NBC NEWS

2009.5.22