Senior official of anti-corruption agency found dead in apparent suicide

SEOUL/SEJONG, Aug. 8 (Yonhap) — A senior official of the state anti-corruption agency was found dead in an apparent suicide in the central administrative city of Sejong, police said Thursday.

The official of the Anti-corruption and Civil Rights Commission was found dead at an apartment with a suicide note at 9:50 a.m. by a person who visited the apartment after the official neither showed up for work nor received calls.

Until recently, the official had served as acting chief of the agency’s anti-corruption bureau and oversaw inquiries into politically sensitive cases, including first lady Kim Keon Hee’s acceptance of a luxury handbag and opposition leader Lee Jae-myung’s use of a helicopter after he came under a knife attack in January.

Last month, the official also appeared at a parliamentary hearing to answer questions from lawmakers.

Police are looking into the exact circumstances of the death.