Former S.Korean President Choi Kyu-hah dies

Former South Korean President Choi Kyu-hah died Sunday at the age of 88, the South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported.

Choi was found unconscious at home by his nurse around 6:00 a.m. local time (2100 GMT Saturday) and died at 7:37 a.m. local time ( 2237 GMT Saturday) after being taken to a nearby hospital in Seoul, Yonhap said.

It is still unclear what caused Choi's death but his aides said the former president had long suffered from heart problems.

Choi was born in 1919 in Wonju of Gangwon Province. He served as foreign minister from 1967 to 1971, a presidential advisor for security from 1971 through 1975 and a prime minister from 1976 to 1979.

Choi worked as acting president in October 1979 after South Korean President Park Chung-hee was assassinated. He was elected president in December 1979 and step down in a military coup by Chun Doo-hwan in 1980.

Source: Xinhua