South Korean Ex-President Kills Himself

Source: New York Times

SEOUL, South Korea — Former President Roh Moo-hyun of South Korea, whose reputation as an upstanding political leader had been tarnished recently by a corruption scandal, committed suicide on Saturday by jumping off a cliff near his retirement home, according to his aides and the police.

Mr. Roh, 62, died while he was hiking on a hill in Bongha, a village near the southeast corner of South Korea, Moon Jae-in, Mr. Roh’s former presidential chief of staff, said during a news conference. He left a brief will for his family, Mr. Moon said. Mr. Roh suffered fatal head injuries and was declared dead in a hospital in Pusan, the largest regional city, said Park Chan-jo, a police officer. Mr. Roh was accompanied by a bodyguard during his morning hike.

Mr. Roh, who had prided himself on being a clean politician during his term from 2003 to 2008, was questioned for 10 hours on April 30 by state prosecutors over his alleged involvement in a corruption scandal that has already landed some of his relatives and aides in jail.

“I can’t look you in the face because of shame,” Mr. Roh told reporters before he presented himself for questioning by prosecutors in Seoul, who had accused him of taking $6 million in bribes from a businessman while in office. “I apologize for disappointing the people.” In his last posting on his Web site, on April 22, he wrote, “You should now discard me.” He added: “I no longer symbolize the values you pursue. I am no longer qualified to speak for such things as democracy, progressiveness and justice.”



Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/23/world/asia/23korea.html?ref=global-home

and people in south korea felt shame over that. even though he had been living in America for years and was a kid when he left South Korea.

but as later poster said , this all presupposes feelings of guilt. Never Mind.
P

:wow:

RIP

I have question my own convictions before I can begin to look at this mans. :think:

That pig and the rest of the criminal administration need to consider this. It would save us ALL a lot of time and money if they would just face up to reality for once.

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

:dem:

-Laelth

.
.
.

Your link says you lived in Aberdeen, Washington -

your profile says Aberdeen, South Dakota.

Maybe you're in Aberdeen, Maryland?

Idaho?

UK?

enlighten this ConfusedCanuk

Oh, wait ... she helped bust a Nigerian scam. And she's a born-again Christian. So we can trust her. You betcha!

--d!

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

:dem:

-Laelth

Now they just have their guns.

Source: Straits Times

SEOUL - EMBATTLED former President Roh Moo Hyun - a reformist shamed by a corruption scandal that tarnished his image as a 'clean' politician - jumped to his death while hiking in the mountains behind his rural home in South Korea, his lawyer said. He was 62.

Mr Roh was hiking in Bongha village when he threw himself off a steep cliff around 6.40am on Saturday, lawyer Moon Jae In told reporters in the southern city of Busan. He said Mr Roh left a suicide note.

A self-taught lawyer who lifted himself out of poverty to reach the nation's highest office, Mr Roh prided himself on his clean record in a country with a long history of corruption. He served as president from 2003 to 2008. But he and his family have been ensnared in recent weeks in a burgeoning bribery scandal.

The suicide - the first by a South Korean president - stunned the nation. South Koreans nationwide huddled around TV screens watching news broadcasts.

Read more: http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Asia/Story/STIStory_380659.html?vgnmr=1

---

Background from Straits Times
http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Asia/Story/BgSty_380659_2.html

Born on August 6, 1946 to a poor family near the south-eastern city of Gimhae, he left school early but took odd jobs and studied at night to escape rural poverty.

He chose the law as his path but found his true voice as a politician defending the oppressed against the army-backed dictatorship of the mid-1980s.

Mr Roh's life changed in 1981 when he met dissident students whose toenails had been torn off during two months of torture for possessing banned literature.

He built his reputation defending students accused of sedition under previous military-backed administrations, and once was arrested and his law license suspended for supporting an outlawed labour protest.

He challenged the authority of President Chun Doo Hwan, and made headlines in 1987 when he was jailed and suspended from his law practice on charges of abetting striking shipyard workers.

Amid nationwide protests that year which ushered in democracy, Mr Roh became a full-time politician.

He was elected to parliament in 1988 and won fame in his first year during a parliamentary hearing on the past wrongdoings of Chun's government, when he spoke out against the dictatorship and cross-questioned witnesses.

In the early 1990s he backed a petition calling for US troops to leave Korea.

Mr Roh scored a dramatic upset victory in the 2002 presidential election, partly by harnessing the power of the Internet to swell support.

After inauguration in early 2003, he described his priorities as the emergence of his country as an East Asian economic and technological hub and reconciliation with communist North Korea.

He also sought a policy of 'balanced diplomacy' by lessening dependence on long-time ally the United States.

Mr Roh pushed a generally liberal agenda, calling for a fairer distribution of wealth and characterising himself as a fighter for the underprivileged.

But his aggressive and provocative remarks, coupled with a lack of skill in building political ties, often led to confrontations.

After a year in office, Mr Roh became the first South Korean president to be impeached for an alleged breach of election laws. He survived the impeachment and propelled his party to a sweeping victory in general elections in 2004.

Mr Roh deserved praise for breaking the deep-rooted relationship between politicians and traditional power-holders by reducing the power of the conservative media and conglomerates, said Choi Jin, a Korea University professor.

But he was also faulted for economic mismanagement.

In February 2007 he quit the Uri party he had helped found, apparently acknowledging he had become a political liability in a presidential election year.

By the end of his single five-year term the popularity of Mr Roh and his liberal supporters was low.

Conservative Lee Myung Bak heavily defeated the liberal candidate in the December 2007 presidential poll.

texass is too flat anyhow...

He's failed at everything he has tried.

Despite acting on a thoroughly human level on the political scene, he offered a lot in Korea's transitioning between regimes and for human rights on overall.


He will be dearly missed :cry:

I wonder what this bribery scandal was about?

Then our politicians should follow his example...Would clean things up in short order..
But alas, in our country a convicted politician would probably get his/her own reality show..