Roh's suicide was due to the double pressures of moral questioning and legal pursuit. The long-term goal Roh pursued was integrity, but several of his subordinates and family members had already been involved in corruption cases, which was a great irony for him and also the most direct cause of his suicide. He chose the "tragic" method of jumping off a cliff, simply as a way to prove his innocence. Roh could be said to be the victim of the vicious circle of corruption in South Korea's political arena; his death highlighted the chronic problem of collusion between politicians and businessmen in South Korea, reflecting the ecological preservation and systemic limitations of today's South Korean politics. Since South Korea achieved political democratization in 1987, four popularly elected presidents have been embroiled in various corruption scandals after leaving office.