Ex-S Korea leader 'kills himself'
The former president of South Korea, Roh Moo-hyun, who had been under investigation for alleged corruption, has apparently committed suicide.
A spokesman said Mr Roh, 62, appeared to have jumped into a ravine while mountain climbing near his home and had left a brief suicide note.
Last month, Mr Roh apologised over allegations his family took $6m in bribes during his 2003-2008 term.
He never admitted wrongdoing, but said he was sorry for disappointing people.
'Deeply sad event'
In a statement read live on national radio and television, Mr Roh's former chief of staff, Moon Jae-in, said the former president had left a suicide note.
 |  I can't imagine the countless agonies down the road. The rest of my life would only be a burden for others. I can't do anything because I'm not healthy. I can't read books, nor can I write.Don't be too sad. Isn't life and death all part of nature? Don't be sorry. Don't blame anybody. It's fate. Please cremate me. And please leave a small tombstone near home. I've long thought about that.  Suicide note left by Roh Moo-hyun Source: Yonhap news agency  |
"Former President Roh left his house at 0545 (2045 GMT on Friday) and while hiking on the Bonghwa Mountain, appears to have jumped off a rock at around 0640," he said.
"He left a short suicide note addressed to his family members."
In the message, Mr Roh described his life as "difficult" and apologised for making "too many people suffer", according to South Korean media.
"Don't be too sad. Isn't life and death all part of nature? Don't be sorry," the official news agency, Yonhap, quoted the note as saying.
"Please cremate me. And please leave a small tombstone near home. I've long thought about that."
Police said the former president had fallen 20-30m (65-100ft) down a mountain near his hometown of Gimhae and had been transported to Busan National University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival at 0830 local time (2330 GMT).
Hospital officials later said he had died from massive head injuries.
The apparent suicide - believed to be the first by a modern South Korean leader - has shocked the nation.
"This is a truly unbelievable, lamentable and deeply sad event," President Lee Myung-bak, Mr Roh's successor, said in a statement.
 Medics said Mr Roh died from massive head injuries resulting from the fall |
Mr Lee, who was told of the death while holding talks with Czech President Vaclav Klaus, told ministers to prepare Mr Roh's funeral with "respect and in line with the protocol for a former president".
Mr Roh's predecessor, Kim Dae-Jung, said he had lost his "life-long companion, with whom I took part in struggles for democracy and shared 10 years of a democratic government".
"Allegations concerning his family members have been leaked to the press every day," Mr Kim said. "He was probably unable to bear the pressure and tensions any longer. My heart goes out to his family."
On the streets of Seoul there were mixed reactions to the news.
"I'm heartbroken. I can't imagine how much pain he was in," Park Kyung-hee said. "I think death was the best choice for him so that those close to him didn't have to suffer."
Jang Soo-Dong, an engineer, said the media, "and prosecutors and others who fed them with unconfirmed allegations" should be held partly responsible.
But businessman Park Hae-Heon said Mr Roh should have "resorted to the legal system to prove what was right and wrong".
Bribery allegations
A human rights lawyer, Mr Roh took office in 2003 vowing to fight corruption, but correspondents say his term was a rollercoaster ride, with his Uri party hit by scandal and infighting.
| ROH MOO-HYUN 2003 - elected president 2004 - suspended by MPs, then reinstated by court 2008 - leaves office Apr 2009 - quizzed for alleged bribery 23 May 2009 - dies while mountain climbing |
He was suspended early in 2004, after parliament voted to impeach him over a breach of election rules, but the Constitutional Court later overturned the move and he was reinstated.
Last month, Mr Roh was questioned over allegations that he had taken more than $6m in bribes from a wealthy shoe manufacturer, Park Yeon-cha, who was indicted in December on separate bribery and tax evasion charges.
The former president later apologised for the scandal.
"I feel ashamed before my fellow citizens. I am sorry for disappointing you," he said in a televised statement on 30 April.
Mr Roh admitted his wife had received $1m from Mr Park. However, he said it was a payment to help her settle a debt, and not a bribe.
He also said he was aware that the businessman had given another $5m to a relative, but that he thought it was an investment.
After Mr Roh's death was announced on Saturday, Justice Minister Kim Kyung-han said the corruption case against him would be formally closed. However, he did not say whether the former president's family would continue to be investigated.
credit from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8064799.stm
Chungnam National University scientists make H1N1 flu virus vaccine
Korean scientists make H1N1 flu virus vaccine
Korean veterinary scientists said yesterday that they have succeeded in developing a human vaccine against the A(H1N1) influenza virus that has alarmed the world.
They say the vaccine against the virus, which was initially called swine flu, is the first in the world and it should be available to humans in four months. A research team led by Suh Sang-hee, professor of veterinary science at Chungnam National University, said that through genetic recombination of genes extracted from the standard H1N1 virus they have developed a vaccine that is non-infective and can be mass produced.
The breakthrough came only 11 days after the team received samples of the virus from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and began research, according to the university. It generally takes around three months for a vaccine to be developed.
Suh is an established figure in international influenza research, having produced a vaccine against the highly pathogenic avian flu strain last October. He was the first in the world to identify the human cause of the avian flu influenza, which claimed six lives in Hong Kong in 1997. Also, he is the only scientist in Korea who has won official approval from the U.S. CDC, enabling him to obtain highly virulent flu virus samples for research whenever necessary. He said he is willing to provide the vaccine to Korean and world health authorities as well as pharmaceutical firms free of charge. The U.S. CDC has already made such a request.
“Although the new strain of influenza is wreaking havoc on human health across the globe, mass production and injection of the vaccine could minimize its impact,” he said in a media interview. “We need to launch mass production of the vaccine before it becomes too late.”
Since the vaccine appears not to be harmful to human health, it will go through a simple safety test before being commercialized by pharmaceutical firms, Suh added. Jun Byung-yool, a senior official of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in a press briefing that he “has no words to say at this moment, since the center hasn’t verified the research outcome.”
Meanwhile, the disease control center said yesterday it had identified a 22-year-old Vietnamese female as a presumed victim of A(H1N1) on Sunday. She is currently being tested after being isolated in a facility at Incheon International Airport.
After departing from Seattle in the United States, she was transferring to a flight to Vietnam via Incheon. Quarantine control at the airport detected that she had a fever. The center said it will track 73 Koreans and 28 foreigners who took the same flight with her.
view of Chungnam U and Deajeon
By Seo Ji-eun
http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2905022
Korean veterinary scientists said yesterday that they have succeeded in developing a human vaccine against the A(H1N1) influenza virus that has alarmed the world.
They say the vaccine against the virus, which was initially called swine flu, is the first in the world and it should be available to humans in four months. A research team led by Suh Sang-hee, professor of veterinary science at Chungnam National University, said that through genetic recombination of genes extracted from the standard H1N1 virus they have developed a vaccine that is non-infective and can be mass produced.
The breakthrough came only 11 days after the team received samples of the virus from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and began research, according to the university. It generally takes around three months for a vaccine to be developed.
Suh is an established figure in international influenza research, having produced a vaccine against the highly pathogenic avian flu strain last October. He was the first in the world to identify the human cause of the avian flu influenza, which claimed six lives in Hong Kong in 1997. Also, he is the only scientist in Korea who has won official approval from the U.S. CDC, enabling him to obtain highly virulent flu virus samples for research whenever necessary. He said he is willing to provide the vaccine to Korean and world health authorities as well as pharmaceutical firms free of charge. The U.S. CDC has already made such a request.
“Although the new strain of influenza is wreaking havoc on human health across the globe, mass production and injection of the vaccine could minimize its impact,” he said in a media interview. “We need to launch mass production of the vaccine before it becomes too late.”
Since the vaccine appears not to be harmful to human health, it will go through a simple safety test before being commercialized by pharmaceutical firms, Suh added. Jun Byung-yool, a senior official of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in a press briefing that he “has no words to say at this moment, since the center hasn’t verified the research outcome.”
Meanwhile, the disease control center said yesterday it had identified a 22-year-old Vietnamese female as a presumed victim of A(H1N1) on Sunday. She is currently being tested after being isolated in a facility at Incheon International Airport.
After departing from Seattle in the United States, she was transferring to a flight to Vietnam via Incheon. Quarantine control at the airport detected that she had a fever. The center said it will track 73 Koreans and 28 foreigners who took the same flight with her.
view of Chungnam U and Deajeon
By Seo Ji-eun
http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2905022
3P ASP.Net Course
Start from Monday of this week I have ASP.Net course to be attend. Since I haven't attend class for almost 6 months,I feel so weird and awkward when I step in the Lab...Serious sh**t there are nobody I know in that class except Alep.Lucky got 1. I just get along with him..serious nobody I know guys.If u are in my place u will feel so stress. But I manage to handle it.
ASP.NET class start from 4 May till 12 June..We have to code using Visual Studio 2008 ,language used -->VB/C#. The trainer is a lovely lady at our age range from Yogjakarta,Indonesia. She is dedicated and dynamic trainer. This class 정말 재미있었어요!!
지금은 나 혼자 있어요.너무 심심해요. 재 남친은 너무 너무 바빠서 나 뭐할가?
ASP.NET class start from 4 May till 12 June..We have to code using Visual Studio 2008 ,language used -->VB/C#. The trainer is a lovely lady at our age range from Yogjakarta,Indonesia. She is dedicated and dynamic trainer. This class 정말 재미있었어요!!
지금은 나 혼자 있어요.너무 심심해요. 재 남친은 너무 너무 바빠서 나 뭐할가?
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