August 4, 2002: Hyundai chairman leaps to his death

Hyundai chairman leaps to his death

2002 - Chung Mong Hun, the Hyundai Group chairman charged with illegally funnelling money to North Korea, leapt to death from his 12th-floor office in Seoul as the government deepened its investigation. Chung and two aides of former South Korean President Kim Dae-Jung were charged in June with illegally channelling $450 million to the North ahead of a landmark summit that earned Kim the Nobel Peace Prize in 2000. Prosecutors grilled Chung, 54, three times for 12 hours each in the last two weeks.

“For the chief of a business giant to choose suicide amid an ongoing investigation means there must be something really wrong,” said Cho Ik-jae, head of investment strategy at Meritz Securities Co in Seoul.

August 4

1902 - The Greenwich foot tunnel under the River Thames opens.

1907 - The French fleet bombards Casablanca, north-western Morocco, following anti-colonial demonstrations.

1914 - Britain declares war on Germany.

1971 - The US Apollo 15 spacecraft heads back to Earth after a six-day mission exploring the Moon.

1977 - US President Jimmy Carter establishes the Department of Energy.

1991 - Greek cruise ship Oceanos sinks off South Africa’s rugged eastern coast.

1995 - Croatia launches a massive attack on breakaway Serbs, bombarding rebel towns and shelling UN peacekeepers.

2007 - The Turkish parliament dominated by the Islamic-oriented party of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is sworn in.

2012 - American swimmer Michael Phelps becomes the most decorated Olympian ever with 22 Olympic medals.

2013 - A horrific crash in Saudi Arabia leaves 14 people dead and 3 injured.

2015 - A three-storey building collapses in Thane township, Mumbai, killing at least 12 people.