A senior South Korean actor was found dead in his small rented room on Tuesday of an apparent suicide, police said.

Kim Choo-ryun, a 64-year-old actor who had his heyday in the 1970s, was found hanging in his studio in Gimhae, 449 kilometers southeast of Seoul, the police said.

He seemed to have killed himself the previous day after months of depression, they noted. 

According to police, a suicide note found in Kim's room, read, "I can hardly stand my loneliness and difficulties. I am sorry for my fans and family."

Kim's filmography includes "Winter Woman," a 1997 hit romance, and "I Am Living in a Cell," his debut film in 1974. 

South Korea has the highest suicide rate among the member states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), with 24.3 people out of every 100,000 taking their own lives in 2008, the latest figure available.

(Yonhap News)