By Yoo Chang-yup

SEOUL - The death of a South Korean woman in the United States last August still remains a mystery for her husband and the civic group supporting him.

On August 5 last year, Park Chun-hee, then aged 36, died on a highway on the outskirts of Washington D.C.

Local police later declared that Park had committed suicide by jumping out of a moving taxi.

Park, who served as a budget analyst at a U.S. military base in Taegu for over 11 years, was on her second business trip to the United States after first visiting the country in 1997.

The outcome of the police’s first investigation failed to satisfy her husband, Nam Hak-ho, a painter. He claimed there was no reason why his wife would take her own life and raised the possibility of his wife being a murder victim.

His efforts to seek the truth led him to request government agencies, including the presidential office, to call on the United
States to thoroughly scrutinize the matter.

Citizens formed a group to support him, and the U.S. police eventually reinvestigated the case.

Earlier this month, a report on the reinvestigation was delivered to him. It concluded that after considering an autopsy report and other evidence, his wife’s death "was an accident."

However, the result still did not satisfy Han or the support group.

"I cannot accept even one percent of the result," he said. "I will make a stronger request for a closer examination of the case.

"The second report did not include any comment on speculation that she might have been killed," he noted.

"How can I believe the report saying her death was an accident due to jet lag in the wake of a long flight?"

"We were somewhat relieved by the report, as at least it did not certify the case as a suicide," a member at the group said. "However, we cannot accept the final outcome of the reinvestigation."

A doctor said the report might be based on various materials and evidence after the autopsy, but that the report lacks the evidence required to rule out murder. "It would be difficult to conclude the case only on the basis of the report," he stated.