S. Koreans to bid farewell to former leader Roh at royal palace

SEOUL, May 28 (Yonhap) -- Thousands of South Koreans will gather Friday in
Seoul's historic royal palace for the funeral of former President Roh Moo-hyun.
The liberal leader, who held office from 2003 to 2008, leapt from a mountainside
rock at his regional hometown Saturday, ending his own life amid a bribery
investigation.

As a "people's funeral," the ceremony will be attended by some 2,500, including
President Lee Myung-bak, former Presidents Kim Dae-jung and Kim Young-sam,
lawmakers, diplomats in Seoul as well as ordinary citizens.
Ceremonies will be held beginning 11 a.m. in the courtyard of the imposing
Gyeongbok Palace in central Seoul, led jointly by Roh's former Prime Minister Han
Myung-sook and the incumbent Prime Minister Han Seung-soo.
His body will be cremated after the funeral and the ashes taken for burial near
his retirement home in Bongha Village, about 450 kilometers southeast of Seoul,
as he requested in a note left to his family just before his death.
The funeral will be broadcast live on a large screen placed in central Seoul for
those who cannot enter the palace.
A funeral procession will be held from 1 p.m., stopping at the central Seoul
Plaza for a memorial rite to wish peaceful rest for the deceased. The procession
will be joined by 1,000 citizens chosen through the Internet.
The procession will continue on foot through the city for half an hour before
heading to Suwon, adjacent to Seoul, for cremation.
Some 60,000 South Koreans were paying tribute daily at the mourning sites in
Seoul and across the nation. Nearly 350,000 people have visited a memorial site
in his hometown Bongha, where the former president had retired to after leaving
office in February last year.
Roh, 62, died as he and his were family were being questioned in a corruption
scandal that had sent several of his relatives and confidants to jail. He and his
family were accused of taking US$6 million from a businessman.
Gyeongbok Palace, the largest palace of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), is one of
South Korea's landmark historical sites, located near the presidential office.
hayney@yna.co.kr
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