the University of Melbourne 's School of Population Health . `` In many western countries , a suicide in someone of Roh 's position might be more about looking for understanding . In collectivist societies , like Japan and Korea , where a person 's identity is more tied closely to other groups , suicides can be seen as the ultimate way to rebuild or reclean your image , if it changes . '' `` I think there is something paradoxical in it . On one hand , some see it as a way of maintaining status and restoring honor to you and the people you represent , but the pressure from that group could contribute to you considering suicide . '' Roh was under investigation for corruption and some believe the pressures he felt just became too great . `` Roh had come to power as a human rights lawyer , as an uneducated outsider pledging to clean up Korean politics , so it was particularly hard on him to have what he stood for and the reality of what happened under his administration . I think that was particularly hard for him to take , '' David King
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- More than nuclear bomb tests , the suicide of former South Korean president Roh Moo-Hyun has stunned the South Korean public . While the news has shocked the nation , perhaps the level of surprise at the method was n't as great . The suicide of former president Roh has shocked South Korea . In a country with one of the highest suicide rates among economically advanced countries , traditional concepts of honor and public `` face '' remain powerful social forces . According to World Health Organization figures , rates of suicide in South Korea doubled to 21.9 deaths per 100,000 people between 1996 and 2006 . The United Nations cites that 90 percent of suicide cases were caused by mental disorders , but socio-cultural and economic pressures play a large part . While each case of suicide has a number of complex personal issues , the connection between suicide and honor has a historical basis in many Asian countries . `` There are cultural histories in Asian societies of honorable suicide , such as hara-kiri in Japan , where the person assumes total responsibility , '' said Dr. Erminia Colucci , research fellow at