Chairman Chung Seems to Have Committed Suicide on Impulse

The police investigating the suicide of Hyundai Asan Chairman Chung Mong-hun said Tuesday that the introverted chairman seemed to have had a difficult time over many issues by himself and committed suicide on impulse.

In a press conference in the Tuesday morning, the Jongro Police Station said that the police focused its investigation on what the late chairman did before committing suicide. Investigation was focused on Chairman Chung`s high school alumnus Park Ki-su, with whom Chairman Chung was together before committing suicide. But the two merely talked about golf or their families, which make it difficult for the police to secure any specific evidence on the reason behind the chairman`s death.

Park said to the police that Chairman Chung seemed to undergo a difficult time. The police said, however, that Park`s statement did not include anything to provide a clue about the reason behind Chairman Chung`s suicide related to the money transfer to North Korea.

The police plan to continue the investigation on what Chairman Chung did last Sunday. They will secure CCTV evidence to check whether chairman Chung entered the Hyundai building in Gyedong, Jongro-gu at 11:52 p.m.

One expert said that a person who intends to commit suicide tends to take a bath, cut hair, meet one`s friends and family and talk about one`s past before he or she does so. The expert said that the behavior of the late chairman was very similar to this typical behavior.

Meanwhile, the chairman Chung met his friend Park Ki-su also in the Saturday after noon after he was under thorough investigation by the prosecution over the alleged secret fund of 15 billion won or more. He drank with park until 4 a.m. Sunday at W bar in Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam-gu.

The police said that Park met chairman Chung at around 2:40 p.m. Sunday and left him at 11:40 on the day. They also met Saturday afternoon and drank until 4 a.m. Sunday, according to the police. The police said that there were other people at the place except chairman Chung and his friend Park. But the police did not investigate into them yet.

Sun-Woo Kim sublime@donga.com