A former Gyeonggi Provincial Council member has been found dead while under investigation in connection with allegations that former President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife, Kim Keon-hee, interfered in nominations for the 2022 local elections.

Police in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, said Monday that Choi Ho was found dead around 3:15 a.m. on a hill in the city.

Officers found Choi after responding to a report from his family that he had gone out in his car and could not be reached. 

Police suspect that Choi took his own life and are investigating the circumstances surrounding his death, with no suicide note found so far. 

Choi, who was close to Yoon, was nominated as the People Power Party’s candidate for Pyeongtaek mayor in the local elections. 

He was later found to have secured the nomination despite trailing a former Pyeontaek mayor in public polls, raising speculation that Yoon and his wife may have backed him during the nomination process.