Chief prosecutor to step down over former president's death

SEOUL, June 4 (Yonhap) -- The country's top prosecutor will step down this week,
his office said Thursday, one day after he offered to resign over the suicide of
former President Roh Moo-hyun who was under investigation over bribery
allegations.
Prosecutor General Lim Chae-jin's resignation has been accepted, and his farewell
ceremony will be held Friday, the office said.
Roh, who served as president from 2003-2008, took his own life on May 23 by
jumping off a mountain cliff near his retirement home in Bongha Village, 450
kilometers southeast of Seoul. He was 62.
His death triggered an outpouring of sympathy throughout the country while his
supporters blamed the prosecution for conducting a politically motivated probe.
"I sincerely apologize for making our people sad with an unimaginable
misfortune," Lim said Wednesday.
A Roh appointee, Lim offered to resign once before on the day the former
president died, but the justice minister rejected the resignation. Up until
Wednesday, the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae had said it was trying to
persuade the chief prosecutor to stay on at least until the investigation into
Roh's widowed wife and son was over.
Both Roh and his wife Kwon Yang-sook were summoned for questioning over
allegations that the family had received millions of dollars from a local
businessman.
bdk@yna.co.kr
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