Yangsan mayor hangs himself ahead of probe

Oh Geun-sub

YANGSAN, South Gyeongsang - The mayor of Yangsan in South Gyeongsang apparently hanged himself yesterday, hours before he was due at the local prosecutors’ office about an alleged financial scandal.

Oh Geun-sub, 62, had been issued with a subpoena and was scheduled to meet officials at Ulsan District Prosecutors’ Office at 10 a.m.

His body was discovered at around 7:10 a.m. by a family friend. Oh was hanging by a cord from the kitchen ceiling, Yangsan Police Precinct said.

The mayor was pronounced dead at the scene, investigators said. He had wrapped himself in the Korean national flag and the city flag before he killed himself.

Investigators said that Oh had been dead approximately one or two hours before the discovery of his body.

Oh left a two-page note in the living room of his house saying, “I apologize to my family. I have lived life to the fullest. Please improve Yangsan.”

The funeral will be held after a five-day mourning period.

Oh had been under investigation for taking bribes from local real estate agencies in exchange for alterations to city development projects.

Investigators had already summoned the mayor’s chief of staff earlier this month.

Ahn Gi-sub, the deputy mayor, will take over the mayor’s post temporarily.

Oh withdrew from the Grand National Party after he became entangled in a lobbying scandal related to giving paintings and calligraphy as gifts during the party’s nomination process for the May 31 local elections in 2006.

Oh was reelected after running as an independent candidate. He was first elected to the post in 2004.

The mayor is a self-made man, making his money in grain brokerage, transportation and the construction businesses. He first entered the political arena as a city council member in 1995. He only graduated from elementary school and lived a hard life while young.

The mayor set up Yangsan College while he was in his 40s and served as the head of the board of directors.

By Lee Min-yong [smartpower@joongang.co.kr]