The suicide of former south korea president

 

(Former South Korean President Roh Moo-Hyun committed suicide by leaping to his death from a hill behind his house, the government announced.)

 

The apparent suicide of Roh Moo-hyun, the former South Korea's president, is a tragedy not only for his own country but for the entire region. Roh is thought to have killed himself because of a probe into allegations that his family took some $6m in bribes. The accusations had already sullied the reputation of the former human rights lawyer as a clean alternative to South Korea's murky political culture.Of Roh's four predecessors, two were jailed for corruption and sons of the other two imprisoned on similar counts. Mr Roh was thought to be different. He had campaigned all his political life against corruption. When he left office at the end of his five-year presidential term last year, he went back to his home village, enhancing his reputation as a man of the people.

 

Mr Roh's suicide stunned the nation of 49 million, which was divided during his presidency between those critical of his outspoken, antiestablishment ways and others who rallied around his efforts to promote democracy, fight corruption and facilitate rapprochement with North Korea.

 

Roh worked his way up from a farming village to the presidency, but in many ways remained an outsider whose bluntness alienated both political opponents and the public. And Roh's reputation as a clean leader was tarnished when he was questioned last month as a suspect in the corruption probe - the third former leader to be quizzed on graft charges after leaving office.

 

Several of Roh's former aides and associates have also been investigated on suspicion of taking illicit money from Park, who has been detained since being indicted last December on separate bribery and tax evasion charges.

 

Roh already made a public confession that his wife received money from Park, who is charged with bribing former government officials with money worth some million U.S. dollars. He served as South Korea's president from 2003 to 2008.

 

Roh left a suicide note for his family that his family lawyer Moon Jae-in handed out to South Korean media. News reports said Roh wrote it on his computer about half an hour before he left the house.

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