Report: Ex-chairman of Doosan Group, SKorea's oldest conglomerate, dead of apparent suicide
Associated Press
11/04/09 12:40 AM EST
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA — The ousted chairman of South Korea's oldest conglomerate, the Doosan Group, was found dead in an apparent suicide, a news report said Wednesday.
Park Yong-oh was found dead at his Seoul home in what appeared to be a suicide, the Yonhap news agency said, citing police. Officials at Seoul National University hospital confirmed his death but did not cite a cause.
Doosan Group officials said they could not immediately confirm the report.
If confirmed, Park's suicide would be the latest in a string of high-profile South Koreans taking their own lives.
Former President Roh Moo-hyun jumped off a cliff to his death in May. At the time, he and his family were being investigated for allegedly taking $6 million from a businessman while Roh was president.
Last year, top South Korean actress Choi Jin-sil committed suicide, weeks after a fellow actor killed himself.
Park, 72, had been chief executive of the Doosan Group until a family feud prompted his ouster in 2005. His younger brother took over as chairman. In 2006, Park was convicted of embezzling company funds.
The Doosan Group is one of South Korea's largest conglomerates, with 15 subsidiaries operating businesses that sell everything from food to clothes and real estate. The firm also owns nuclear power plants and light construction equipment.
South Korea, a nation of 49 million people, has the highest rate of suicide among nations belonging to the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development. The OECD currently lists 30 member nations.
