S. Korean star Choi Jin-sil dead in apparent suicide

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korean actress Choi Jin-sil, 39, known as "The Nation's Actress," was found dead Thursday in an apparent suicide, hours after she sent a text message saying "take care of my children no matter what happens."

Yang Jae-ho, chief investigator at Seoul's Seocho Police Station, said Choi is believed to have hanged herself in the bathroom of her Seoul home, said

Choi had been depressed since her 2004 divorce and worried about how to care for her two young children, friends told police. She divorced baseball star Cho Sung-min, then a pitcher for the Japanese pro baseball team Yomiuri Giants. The deterioration of their two-year relationship became tabloid fodder, culminating in Cho's arrest for attacking her.

Rumors that she had demanded repayment of a loan to actor and longtime friend Ahn Jae-hwan, who was found dead in his car in early September, upset the actress, friends and family said. Choi denied loaning Ahn money and asked police to find out who was circulating the claims.

Choi sent an assistant two cellphone text messages Wednesday night asking her to "take care of my children no matter what happens" and telling her "I'm sorry," the chief investigator said.

Choi's mother told police the actress returned home drunk around midnight Wednesday, crying and denying the recent rumors, before going into the bathroom, Yang said.