Former South Korean President Roh Moo- hyun died after falling down a mountain while hiking with an aide at around local time 08:50 Saturday (23:50 Friday, GMT), Yonhap news agency quoted police as saying.

It was not known whether the former president fell by accident or died after committing suicide.

As it appears he left a note before he died, a suicide is more likely to be what happened, South Korea's news channel YTN said.

Roh had severe head injuries and died after being moved to a larger hospital in Busan from his hometown of Gimhae, Yonhap reported. Police are investigating whether Roh committed suicide, the report said.

The former president is being investigated 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.

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