The wife of Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction Co. chairman Cho Nam-ho died at her home on Sunday, according to police.

Kim Young-hye died allegedly because of a blocked airway at her residence in the Yongsan District in Seoul, police said quoting medical personnel at the scene.

Multiple sources reported she had been suffering from depression before her death. The company denied the possibility of suicide.

“As far as we know, she died of a chronic illness that she had been suffering from for years,” an HHIC official told The Korea Herald.

“Reports that she committed suicide are inaccurate,” he added.

Kim’s body is currently being held at the Gangnam Severance Hospital in southern Seoul.

HHIC, a major construction company, is a former subsidiary of Hanjin Group, headed by Cho Yang-ho, the older brother of HHIC head Nam-ho. The shipbuilder broke off from the conglomerate in 2005.

The two brothers were involved in a seven-year family feud over some of Hanjin Group’s assets after the conglomerate’s founder and father of the two brothers, Cho Joong-hoon, passed away in 2002. Hanjin Group holds Korean Air, Hanjin Shipping and Hanjin Transportation Co. among its subsidiaries.

By Jeong Hunny (hj257@heraldcorp.com)