A leading South Korean businessman has died in an apparent suicide after becoming embroiled in a scandal involving secret payments to the North Korean leadership. Chung Mong-hun - chairman of Hyundai Asan - was found dead after falling from the 12th floor of company headquarters in central Seoul. His body was found by his secretary at about 06:00 - police said he appeared to have jumped some hours before. Chung was a leading member of South Korea's richest and most celebrated business family, one of the sons of the legendary tycoon Chung Ju-young, whose Hyundai group transformed the country into a major industrial power. Chung Mong-hun was in charge of Hyundai Asan, the subsidiary responsible for investments and trade with North Korea. He was indicted in June on false accounting charges in a scandal involving the transfer of 500 US million dollars m to the North Korean leadership. An investigation found that a 100 US million dollars was transferred on behalf of the South Korean Government to help secure a historic summit meeting between the two Koreas three years ago. Chung could have faced a jail term if found guilty. Former government officials have also been indicted, but not former President Kim Dae-jung who won a Nobel Peace Prize for his meeting with the North Korean ruler Kim Jong-il. Hyundai-Asan said the money was paid to secure business licences in North Korea. The company has pioneered economic contacts with the isolated Communist state, and runs the only tourist trips across the demilitarised zone into the North. Shares of nearly all Hyundai units fell on news of the death, with investors jittery over the financial fallout for the firm. Shares of Hyundai's shipping company sank 7% while Hyundai Engineering and Construction dropped 5.4%. **PHOTO CAPTION*** Chung Mong-hun, the head of South Korea's unlisted Hyundai Asan Co, February, 2003. (ARCHIVE REUTERS/Munhwa Ilbo)