3rd LD) Tearful S. Koreans pack streets on former President Roh's funeral

(ATTN: RECASTS headline, lead; UPDATES throughout)
By Shin Hae-in
SEOUL, May 29 (Yonhap) -- Tens of thousands of grieving South Koreans filled the
streets of central Seoul Friday, lingering long after the funeral of former
President Roh Moo-hyun, a liberal leader who strove to challenge authoritarianism
and regional divisions.

A sea of yellow, the color Roh used for his 2002 presidential election, engulfed
the capital city as mourners waved yellow balloons and sent yellow paper planes
to the air. "We love you, president!" they shouted.
At least 180,000 gathered at the Seoul Plaza to attend a memorial rite wishing
for the deceased's peace, according to police, the largest crowd since anti-U.S.
beef rallies at the same place last year. Roh's supporters estimated 300,000 to
400,000.
Roh died Saturday at the age of 62, leaping from a mountainside precipice above
his rural hometown amid a bribery investigation that tarnished his legacy as an
anti-corruption fighter. He denied the accusations of corruption but was put
under pressure as the prosecution probe dragged on.
He served as the country's leader from 2003 to 2008.
A state-funeral was held at an ancient royal palace in Seoul, attended by some
3,000 dignitaries including President Lee Myung-bak, former Presidents Kim
Dae-jung and Kim Young-sam, lawmakers and diplomats in Seoul.
"We have gathered here today to bid goodbye to former President Roh Moo-hyun who
spent his life fighting for human rights, democracy and the end of
authoritarianism -- he was a true 'people's president,'" Prime Minister Han
Seung-soo said in his memorial address at Gyeongbok Palace.
Her voice breaking in tears, Roh's former Prime Minister Han Myung-sook said, "We
are sorry, we love you, we were happy."
"Rest in peace," she said in closing.
After watching the ceremony on large screens outside the palace, thousands
marched down the streets of Seoul, some shouting at the police lined up to keep
the crowd in check. Some 21,000 riot police ringed the area to prevent any
protests by Roh supporters who claim the incumbent administration drove him to
death with a politically motivated probe.
"You are a political murderer!" Baek Won-woo, an opposition party lawmaker,
shouted at President Lee as he was offering a flower to the deceased during the
funeral. He was immediately dragged out by security guards. The main opposition
Democratic Party has been mounting calls for an official apology from Lee and his
party for Roh's suicide.
Roh's sudden death triggered a mass outpouring of grief for days across the
nation, which was divided during Roh's presidency over his bold policies
challenging regionalism, polarization of wealth and a reconciliatory approach
toward North Korea.
Millions of mourners have paid their respects at some 140 altars set up
nationwide with authorities lining up riot police in Seoul and elsewhere to
prevent the gatherings from turning into anti-government demonstrations.
Some one million people have visited the memorial site in Roh's home village
Bongha, where the former president retired after leaving office in February last
year, according to officials of the funeral committee.
"I miss him so much already," said college student Kim Eun-joo, who attended the
funeral with other members of Roh's support group Nosamo, a Korean acronym for
"people who love Roh." "I just hope he remembers how much we loved him and how
much we regret having ever doubted him."
A massive memorial rite was held at the Seoul Plaza and thousands trailed on foot
behind Roh's hearse and the convoy as it slowly moved out of Seoul for cremation.
The police were pushed back as mourners spilled into the streets, leaving only
one lane open for the convoy.
Roh's body will be cremated and the ashes will be taken back for burial near
Bongha, about 450 kilometers southeast of Seoul, as he requested in a note left
to family just before his death.
"I lay awake with frustration at night because he is gone and I do not know whom
to blame for his death," said office worker Moon Han-yong. "I just never thought
he was suffering enough to take his own life. I am so sad, so angry."
Born to a poor family in Gimhae, southeastern Korea, Roh became a self-taught
human rights lawyer who earned fame for representing college students detained
and tortured by counterespionage officers in 1981 for studying leftist theories.
Especially popular among the younger generation for his bold reformist beliefs,
Roh was elected president in 2002 with supporters using the new medium of the
Internet to create a loyal following.
Just 15 months after he returned to Bongha Village, Roh became mired in a bribery
scandal involving US$6 million he and his family had allegedly received from a
wealthy businessman. Becoming the third former president in the nation to appear
before prosecutors, Roh denied personal ties to the scandal.
hayney@yna.co.kr
(END)

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