YONHAP NEWS

(2nd LD) Roh left behind suicide note, family lawyer says

   SEOUL, May 23 (Yonhap) -- Former President Roh Moo-hyun died after falling from a mountainside behind his residence early Saturday morning and left behind a brief suicide note, his lawyer said.

   The Pusan National University Hospital, where the former president was rushed to after his fall, announced that Roh arrived at its emergency room at 8:13 a.m. and died at 9:30 a.m. from external head injuries.

   "Roh left his home at 5:45 a.m. to go hiking. He appears to have jumped from a mountain rock at 6:40 a.m. He was accompanied by a bodyguard at that time," said Moon Jae-in, who had served as presidential chief of staff during the Roh presidency.

   "He left behind a brief suicide note," Moon told reporters at the hospital.

   Roh, who served as South Korea's president from 2003 to 2008, has been under investigation over allegations that he and his family received at least US$6 million in bribes from a corrupt businessman while in office.

   Roh, 62, and his wife, Kwon Yang-sook, were summoned by prosecutors last month to face grueling questioning over the bribery allegations. Prosecutors had said they would soon decide whether to seek an arrest warrant for the former president.

   ycm@yna.co.kr
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