A close associate of South Korean president Lee Myung-bak has been found dead in his serviced apartment in Hong Kong after apparently committing suicide.
Kim Byoung-il, 55, who stepped down as secretary general of a presidential advisory body on reunification policy last year, left a note in the flat saying: 'I had no other choice.'
Korean news reports said he had been summoned back to Seoul for a police investigation.
Hong Kong police and fire officers were called to Harbourfront Horizon in Hung Hom at about 1pm on Monday after a call from the dead man's 29-year-old daughter, Kim Bo-hyun, who had arrived in Hong Kong from Seoul that morning with his 57-year-old wife, Kim Sam-bae.
The daughter told officers that she feared for the safety of her father as no one answered the door, which was locked from inside. Firefighters broke down the door and found Kim Byoung-il hanging in a wardrobe in the flat's bedroom. He was declared dead by paramedics at the scene.
He wrote in the note: 'Sorry to my staff. I had no other choice.'
According to the English-language Korea JoongAng Daily, Kim left the country after being investigated by South Korean police on suspicion of releasing information on a sex scandal that allegedly involved a political figure.