Ex-presidential secretary attempts suicide amid bribery scandal

Hyun Ki-hwan, sitting in a wheelchair, heads to the Busan District Court on Thursday morning for a court hearing that will decide his pre-trial detention. Hyun has attempted suicide Wednesday before an investigation into his alleged bribery. / Yonhap

By Hong Dam-young

A former presidential secretary attempted suicide Wednesday in the face of mounting pressure over an investigation into his alleged bribery.

Hyun Ki-hwan, 57, former presidential secretary for political affairs, slit his left wrist with a razor in a hotel room in Busan at 6:30 p.m.

Hyun’s assistant found him bleeding in a water-filled bathtub.

He was taken to a hospital, where he is in stable condition, according to police.

Hyun was President Park Geun-hye’s senior secretary for political affairs between July 2015 and June this year.

He tried to kill himself one day before a court hearing that decides his pre-trial detention. He attended the hearing sitting in a wheelchair at the Busan District Court on Thursday morning. Hyun was arrested Thursday afternoon.

Hyun is suspected of having received bribes from a construction firm’s chief manager in return for giving the latter favors to build a luxury residential skyscraper near Busan’s scenic Haeundae beach.