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Nam Sang-guk, former Daewoo Construction head, committed suicide Thursday by jumping into the Han River. The act was committed at 12:30 p.m. near the southern end of Hannam Bridge, leading to the Olympic Expressway. Nam had recently been undergoing investigations by prosecutors and was charged with passing W30 million to Roh's older brother Geon-pyeong, in a request that he be reappointed as the head of Daewoo Construction last September.
President Roh said in a morning press conference at Cheong Wa Dae that Roh's older brother Geon-pyeong had approached the president with a request from Nam that he be re-appointed head of the company, but Roh had ordered Civil Affairs and the personnel office to reject the reappointment of Nam as head of the company, and made sure that Nam was not hired for the job.
Roh added, "I hope that people like the former head of Daewoo Construction, who have attended good schools and have greatly succeeded, will no longer go to small people in the countryside and pass them money for their own interests."
Before committing suicide, Nam called Mr. Shin, Daewoo Construction Judicial Affairs Manager, at 12:09 p.m. On the phone, Nam said, "I will bear everything and go. My car is parked at the southern end of the Han River, so take it later," reports Chae Dong-wook, Director of the Special Investigations 2nd Unit at the Seoul District Public Prosecutors' Office.
Shin repeated the conversation to Nam's lawyer Shin Man-seong, who called the prosecutors' office, and reported the incident to police.
The police found a gray Leganza sedan with the license plate "Seoul 30 Ma 1343," a car owned by Nam's wife, at the southern end of Hannam Bridge at 1:20 p.m. Police also found Nam's cellular phone floating in the water between the 12th and 13th piers, but were unable to find Nam's body. Search operations still continue.
Choi Jong-chang, a witness of the act, said, "I was driving my car around 12:30 p.m. when a person suddenly got out from the car in front of me and went on to the railing. I had a strange feeling and stopped for a moment. When the man jumped down, I immediately called the police."
Nam was a graduate of Seoul National University and Kyunggi High School, and entered Daewoo in 1974. A former engineer of an introvert character who spent much of the next 19 years on construction sites, Nam was promoted to executive director in 1997. As Nam did not appear to conduct public relations activities when his reappointment as head was being decided, Daewoo employees have been showing surprise at recent investigations into Nam's political lobbying activities. Daewoo Construction workers say that they "cannot believe that quiet Nam Sang-guk would give money to Roh Geon-pyeong to ensure his reappointment."
One Daewoo Construction employee who wishes to remain anonymous says that Nam was a person of "great pride and responsibility." Although the employee claims to be unsure of whether Nam, who "attended a good school and greatly succeeded," actually "went to small people in the country to pass them money for his own interests," in the words of President Roh Moo-hyun, the employee says that Nam certainly felt deeply insulted by the president's remarks.
(Youm Kang-su, ksyoum@chosun.com )
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