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S. Korea to close bribery probe into Roh family

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-05-23 14:13

SEOUL -- The justice minister of South Korea said Saturday that an investigation into ex-President Roh Moo-hyun would end, hours after the former head of state died after falling off a mountainside,Yonhap news service reported.

People watch a TV news on former South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun's death at Seoul railway station in Seoul, May 23, 2009[Agencies]

Related readings:  S.Korea ex-President Roh dead -Yonhap  Roh approves probe into Lee  S.Korea ex-president's wife, son quizzed  Ex-SKorean president says ashamed of probe

Justice Minister Kim Kyung-han said in a statement that he "is aware that the investigation on former President Roh will come to a close."

"I cannot hold back the shock and sadness from Roh's unexpected death," the minister said.

The prosecution and the police are looking into the cause and circumstances of his death and will make the results known to the public, he said.

Roh, 62,had been hiking in the village of Bongha on Saturday morning when he threw himself off a mountainside rock, lawyer Moon Jae-in told reporters.

In a suicide note left for his family, Roh called life "difficult" and apologized for making "too many people suffer," a TV report said.

President Lee Myung-bak expressed deep regret over the sudden death of his predecessor Roh Moo-hyun on Saturday, calling it a national tragedy, his spokesman said.

"It is truly hard to believe what happened. It is a sad, tragic incident," the president was quoted as saying.

Roh's death came amid a widening prosecution probe into his alleged involvement in a corruption scandal that implicated his family members.

Last month, state prosecutors questioned Roh for some 13 hours about allegations that he accepted more than $6 million in bribes from a detained South Korean businessman while in office _ accusations that deeply shamed him.

"I have no face to show to the people. I am sorry for disappointing you," an emotional-looking Roh said April 30 before undergoing questioning by prosecutors.
The apparent suicide - the first by a modern South Korean leader _ shocked the nation. Many gathered around TV monitors at Seoul's main train station watching broadcasts of the news.

"I think the former president lost the will to live after his sense of moral superiority was hurt by the scandal," said Lee Jae-hoon, 32. "But he still was an important icon of Korean democracy. I wish he had given more thoughts to the people still counting on him before making the decision."