A South Korean securities company employee jumped from an apartment building to his death in a southern city on Wednesday in an apparent suicide after a recent stock market rout triggered by the grim U.S. economic outlook, police said.

The 48-year-old man surnamed Seo was found lying dead in front of the gate to a high-rise apartment building in Daegu, 302 kilometers south of Seoul, at around 7 a.m., the police said.

The police found CCTV footage capturing Seo, a resident of a nearby mansion, coming out of an elevator alone on the 18th floor of the apartment building. He may have killed himself due to worries about massive losses stemming from stock market falls, police said.

The police said Seo, an employee of one of the leading securities firms, had recently sent text messages alluding to his death from his mobile phone to several contacts, including his wife.

In the message, Seo said: "I am sorry to my family and those around me. My clients' stocks nosedived and I suffered massive losses from falls in security options one day ahead of their expiry," according to the police.

South Korea's key stock index the KOSPI dived a combined 17 percent over the past six-day losing streak as investors were spooked by concerns about U.S. fiscal debts and the slowing economy. (Yonhap News)