WORLD> Photo
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WORLD> Photo
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Emotional funeral for South Korea's Roh Moo-hyun
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-05-30 10:30 SEOUL, South Korea - A sea of wailing mourners filled the streets of Seoul for the funeral Friday of former President Roh Moo-hyun, whose suicide six days earlier amid a deepening corruption probe plunged South Korea into grief and anger. Heads bowed, thousands took part in a solemn ceremony in the courtyard of the 14th-century Gyeongbok Palace before the hearse carrying Roh's body headed to a grassy plaza outside City Hall for emotional public rites attended by a reported 500,000 people. Riot police later moved in as the crush of mourners delayed the hearse from leaving the capital.
Police dispatched some 21,000 officers to quell any protests by Roh supporters who accuse conservative political opponents led by President Lee Myung-bak of driving the liberal former leader to his death with the bribery investigation. Roh, 62, died May 23 after throwing himself off a cliff behind his home in the southern village of Bongha. Roh, president from 2003 to 2008, recently had been questioned about allegations he and his family accepted $6 million in bribes during his presidency.
The suicide stunned the nation of 49 million, where the outspoken Roh - a self-taught former human rights lawyer who swept into office on a populist tide - was celebrated as a leader for the people and was a favorite among young South Koreans for standing up to Washington. Though many were critical of his anti-establishment ways, others rallied around his efforts to promote democracy, fight corruption and facilitate rapprochement with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (official name of the North Korea). Roh "lived a life dedicated entirely to human rights, democracy and fight against authoritarianism," Prime Minister Han Seung-soo said at the palace funeral. "Our people won't forget what you accomplished for the country and the people despite a number of hardships." Last weekend, Roh supporters refused to let Han and others from the ruling Grand National Party pay their respects in Bongha, with some dousing politicians with water and pelting them with eggs. Roh supporters have called the probe against him "political revenge," and posters accusing Lee of driving Roh to his death plastered the walls of one Seoul subway station. "I've never been so ashamed of being a citizen of this country - a country that kills its own president," said Won Seung-tae, 52, of Seoul. "It feels like we've lost all respect in pushing each other to extremes." |
