SEOUL - Former President Roh Moo-hyun, a former human rights lawyer who was under investigation for allegedly accepting millions of dollars in bribes during a five-year term in office that ended last year, died today after a fall near his home outside the southern city of Busan, police said. Discuss COMMENTS (0) Roh, 62, had been on an early morning hike with an aide. News reports said he was found unconscious and suffering from a severe head injury around 6:50 a.m. He was pronounced dead hours later.
The Yonhap news agency, South Korea's largest media service, reported that Roh had left a suicide note, but officials did not immediately confirm that.
The office of Roh's successor, President Lee Myung-bak, said it is investigating the death and declined official comment.
"We are still trying to find out the exact cause of his death and will make an official response after we make a complete assessment of the incident," an unidentified official said. An autopsy was pending.
But Yonhap quoted Moon Jae-in, the lawyer representing Roh in the bribery case, as saying the former president "jumped off the mountain" near his home while escorted by a bodyguard and had "left a brief death note for the family."
Roh had spent the last few months under a cloud of suspicion after evidence surfaced that he solicited $6 million in bribes, allegedly paid to his wife and son, from a shoe magnate.
Poster Comment:
shoe magnate? I'll study up on that, righty-right?