Mourners and police filled the streets of Seoul on Friday as the hearse carrying ex-President Roh Moo-hyun arrived in the capital for his funeral nearly a week after he leapt to his death amid a widening corruption scandal.
Roh, 62, died May 23 after throwing himself off a cliff behind his home in the village of Bongha. Roh, president from 2003 to 2008, recently had been questioned about claims he and his family accepted $6 million in bribes during his presidency.
He denied the bribery allegations, but the accusations weighed heavily on a man who prided himself on his record as a "clean" politician in a country with a tradition of corruption.
Roh's suicide stunned the nation of 49 million, where the outspoken Roh - who rose from humble roots - was known as a leader for the people and a favorite among younger South Koreans. Though many were critical of his antiestablishment ways, others rallied around his efforts to promote democracy, fight corruption and facilitate rapprochement with North Korea.
The convoy bearing Roh's body had started out early Friday from Bongha for the five-hour journey to Seoul for a state-organized funeral in the courtyard of the stately 14th-century Gyeongbok Palace.
Security was tight in central Seoul, with thousands of police lining the streets near the funeral site. Scores more police stood guard inside with black funeral ribbons affixed to their white shirts.
Inside, A 2 1/2-meter-tall portrait of Roh was placed at the altar in a bed of 1 million chrysanthemums laid in the shape of a Rose of Sharon, South Korea's national flower.
President Lee Myung-bak and former President Kim Young-sam were among the 2,500 attending the funeral in the heart of the ancient capital. The royal palace was the site of the 2006 funeral for former President Choi Kyu-hah, which Roh attended as president.
Some people waving yellow handkerchiefs were turned away. Yellow was Roh's campaign color. Large monitors were set up across Seoul for the tens of thousands more mourners.
Earlier Friday, Roh's family attended a brief religious service outside the community center where the late ex-leader's body lay in state. Son Roh Gun-ho bowed deeply, then took his father's portrait to his home for a last look at the village the late leader loved and returned to after leaving office in February 2008.
Roh's wife, Kwon Yang-sook, clad in a black traditional "hanbok" dress, followed solemnly, held by their daughter, Roh Jeong-yeon.
Thousands of villagers turned out to send Roh off to Seoul, many tossing yellow paper airplanes as the hearse blanketed with white chrysanthemums traveled through the streets of Bongha. Yellow was Roh's campaign color.
After the ceremony in the capital, the funeral procession was scheduled to march down central Seoul's main boulevard for a "people's ceremony" at City Hall. Hours before the ceremony, thousands of mourners filled the plaza, many holding yellow balloons, wearing yellow paper hats and some with yellow handkerchiefs tied to their wrists.
Roh was the country's first president to have his own Internet-based fan club, and a thousand people were chosen through the Internet to join the procession through Seoul, the Yonhap news agency reported.
Roh's body was to be cremated later Friday. Roh, in a note to his family left on his computer before his suicide, asked that he be cremated and a small gravestone erected near his home.
His death triggered a wave of grief across South Korea. For days, South Koreans - many tearful and bearing white chrysanthemums, a traditional symbol of mourning - have lined up to pay their respects to Roh.
About 1 million mourners made the pilgrimage to Roh's rural hometown to pay their respects. Mourning sites set up across the nation drew an additional 2 million people, reports said.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, who held a summit with Roh in 2007, also sent condolences, just before carrying out an underground nuclear test that earned wide internationl condemnation.
At the South Korean Embassy in Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton praised Roh as a champion of democracy and human rights.
"President Roh's dedication to democracy and human rights are values the United States and the Republic of Korea share," Clinton said Thursday, ccording to Yonhap. "I know this is a very sad moment for the people of Korea and we share that sadness with you."
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