Screen star suicides month after friend's

One of South Korea's most popular actresses was found dead yesterday in an apparent suicide, police said.

Choi Jin-sil, whose fame earned her the nickname "The Nation's Actress", is believed to have hanged herself in the bathroom of her Seoul home, said Yang Jae-ho, chief investigator at Seoul's Seocho Police Station.

"It's obviously suicide," Yang said, citing a doctor's examination of Choi's body and testimony from family members and friends. He said an investigation was under way.