Hyundai exec leaps to his death
SOUTH KOREA was reeling today after the apparent suicide of a senior executive from the Hyundai Group, who had been embroiled in an international payments scandal.
Police said Chung Monghun, 54, had leapt to his death from the 12th storey of the conglomerate's headquarters in the capital Seoul.
He was the fifth son of the Hyundai group's late founder, Chung Ju-yung. He was embroiled into an international scandal involving alleged payments to Stalinist neighbour North Korea.
A statement from Chung's firm, Hyundai Elevator, said: 'He felt sorry to the Korean people because of the allegations relating to the payment of funds from the company to North Korea.'
Unlisted Hyundai Elevator managed the development of projects in Communist North Korea, including the Mount Kumgang tourist resort, one the few ways for South Koreans to visit their neighbour.
Chung was also a senior executive at Hyundai Merchant and Marine, a major shipping line. News of his death sparked selling of Hyundai firms on the stock exchange, with the benchmark index closing 1.2% lower.
The death will raise more questions about the payments scandal, in which prosecutors say up to $450m (£280m) sent to the North Korean regime by Hyundai to persuade it to hold an historic summit with the South in June 2000.
In the trial, prosecutors have said Hyundai put up $350m of its funds, with a further $100m from the government in violation of the country's foreign exchange laws.
