Former South Korean President Commits Suicide

Corruption and scandal in politics is nothing new. A politician committing suicide because of a scandal isn't common, and yet the former President of South Korea did just that.

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.

Roh was hiking in Bongha village when he threw himself off a steep cliff around 6:40 a.m. Saturday, lawyer Moon Jae-in told reporters in the southern city of Busan. He said Roh left a suicide note.

"Too many people are suffering because of me," he wrote, according to South Korean media.

Roh was taken to Busan National University Hospital, where he was declared dead several hours later.

A self-taught lawyer who lifted himself out of poverty to reach the nation's highest office, 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.