[Student Reporthers] Former South Korean President Roh Commits Suicide

Min-Woo Park/9th, Palos Verdes Peninsula HS

Bitter sorrow sweeps the nation of South Korea as unsettling news of former President Roh Moo-hyun's suicide continue to circulate.

Roh who served as President from 2003-2008 leaped to his death from a 100-foot high cliff while hiking on Saturday May 23. He was sixty-two years old.

Born and raised in a farming community in southern South Korea Roh never attended college yet he still managed to pass the nation's bar exam and become a renowned human rights lawyer in 1975. Determined to make a place for himself in the world of politics Roh was then elected as a lawmaker in the National Assembly in 1988.

The pinnacle of Roh's political carreer occurred in 2002 when he gained the trust of most Koreans as a "common person" who could relate to citizens on matters ranging from taxes to the distribution of governing authority. In spite of his successes however Roh's life careened to a fatal change of pace when he was accused of accepting 6 million dollars in bribes from a businessman while in office. The accusations and the general public's disappointment were a burden like no other to Roh a man who built almost his entire political career upon an image as a staunch opponent of corruption in government.

"I feel ashamed before my fellow citizens. I am sorry for disappointing you" Roh told supporters three weeks ago.

Disheartened to the point of suicide Roh in a brief note on his computer wrote that "too many people are suffering because of me." He went on to write "What's left for me for the rest of my life is just to be a burden to others. Don't be too sad. Aren't life and death both part of nature? Don't feel sorry. Don't blame anybody. It's destiny."

The former President's tragic and unfortunate demise is also a testimony to South Korea's exceptionally high suicide rate a rate higher than any other economically advanced nation in the world.

President Barack Obama said that he was "saddened" by Roh's death. "On behalf of the government of the United States I offer my condolences to his family and to the Korean people" said Obama in a statement issued by the White House. And rightly so considering the fact that Roh's courageous and impressive climb to political success perfectly embodies the "American Dream"-a dream that is admired honored and cherished here and in Korea as evidence of the persistence and determination that define modern day society.