SEOUL - A South Korean actress dogged by Internet rumours over the suicide of an actor has apparently taken her own life, police said Thursday.

The body of Choi Jin-Sil, a 40-year-old mother of two, was discovered by her brother in her Seoul apartment. Officers said the actress's body had been found in the shower with an elastic band around her neck.

"We assume that she has committed suicide as there is little indication that may suggest otherwise," chief detective Yang Jae-Ho of the Seocho Police Station, told journalists.

"It has been confirmed that she sent a mobile text message to an acquaintance before her death. The text message reads like a suicide note," the officer said. He declined to give further details on the contents of the message.

Choi's relatives told police she had been on medication for depression that had recently worsened. Officers said Choi's mother had told them her daughter had been in agony over Internet-circulated rumours that she had lent a huge sum of money to actor Ahn Jae-Hwan.

Ahn killed himself in early September, apparently under pressure from heavy debts arising from failing businesses.

Investigators arrested a securities employee earlier this week after Choi sought a police probe into the source of what she called "groundless rumours."

Last year at least two South Korean celebrities committed suicide after they came under cyber-attack on their own websites.

In response, the government in Seoul passed a law to curb the country's notorious cyber bullying by preventing Internet users hiding behind fake IDs. Major portals and news media websites must now record the real identity of people who post entries.

Portal operators are also bound to disclose this information when victims of attacks want to sue for libel or infringement of privacy.

Choi's marriage to pro baseball player Cho Sung-Min ended in an ugly divorce in 2004.