Former South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun died of external head injury after falling down a mountain at around local time 09:30 (0030 GMT) Saturday.

South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and his wife Kwon Yang-sook wave before they leave for Singapore to attend in the ASEAN+3 summit and the annual East Asian Summit, at a military airport in Seoul in this Nov. 19, 2007 file photo. South Korea’s former President Roh died on May 23, 2009 after he fell while mountain hiking, Yonhap news agency quoted police as saying. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

Roh had severe external head injuries and died after being moved to a larger hospital in Busan from his hometown of Gimhae, Yonhap reported.

It is not confirmed whether the former president fell by accident or died after committing suicide, but a brief suicidal note was found after his death.

The suicidal note was mostly about how troubled he and his people had been and asked for a small tombstone near his hometown.

Earlier in the day, Roh’s family lawyer and former aide, Moon Jae-in, told reporters that the ex-president left a short note to his family before he died, which makes a suicide more likely, South Korea’s news channel YTN reported.

The former president has been under investigation by the South Korean prosecution on a bribery scandal involving his family members.

Investigators allege Roh’s wife, Kwon Yang-sook, and his son accepted around 6 million U.S. dollars from Park Eon-cha, head of shoe manufacturer Taekwang Industry, during his five-year presidential term and suspect Roh was the intended recipient of the money.

Roh already made a public confession that his wife received money from Park, who is charged with bribing former government officials with money worth some million U.S. dollars. He served as South Korea’s president from 2003 to 2008.

VietNamNet/Xinhuanet