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Ex-SKorean leader was alone when he died

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-05-27 15:20

SEOUL - Former South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun is believed to have sent his bodyguard on an errand to a nearby temple just before jumping to his death, a news report said Wednesday.

Roh died Saturday after throwing himself off a rocky cliff that overlooks his home in the village of Bongha, 280 miles (450 kilometers) southeast of Seoul. The bodyguard had initially told police that he was with Roh on Owl's Rock for some 25 minutes before the former president suddenly jumped.

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However, police later determined that Roh had sent his bodyguard to a nearby temple to ask for some information, at which point the ex-leader jumped to his death, Yonhap news agency reported.

A temple official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing police investigation said the bodyguard arrived at Bonghwasan Temple to ask whether the general director was there, as per Roh's request.

The bodyguard left Roh's side around 6:17 am. He returned and later discovered Roh at the bottom of the cliff at 6:45 am, Yonhap said, citing Lee Woon-wu, the head of a provincial police agency handling the case.

The guard and several other security personnel brought Roh to a nearby hospital. He was transferred to a university hospital and declared dead.

The provincial police agency said an investigation of the bodyguard is under way, along with the circumstances under which Roh killed himself. But it said it could not immediately confirm the comments that Yonhap reported.

Police said the bodyguard appeared to have lied during initial investigation for fear of punishment, Yonhap said.

Wearing traditional funeral garments, Baek Jong-woong from Hadong, South Gyeongsang Province, mourns for deceased former South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun during a memorial service at Roh's hometown Bonghwa village in Gimhae, about 450 km (280 miles) southeast of Seoul, May 27, 2009. [Agencies]

Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of South Koreans paid their respects at mourning sites across the country as they were preparing to bid farewell to the late president in a public "people's funeral" in an ancient royal palace in central Seoul on Friday.

Roh's suicide, just 15 months after he left office, came as he and his family faced intense questioning about $6 million given to the Rohs during his presidency by a businessman implicated in a number of bribery scandals.

The allegations tarnished the image of Roh, who prided himself on being a "clean" politician in a country with a long history of corruption.