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S. Korean president attends Roh's funeral with grim looks

(Xinhua/Agencies)
Updated: 2009-05-29 14:17

SEOUL -- South Korean president Lee Myung-bak attended former president Roh Moo-hyun's funeral on Friday, offering flowers to the deceased.

Related readings:  S.Koreans bid farewell to ex-president Roh  Roh's suicide puts South Korean president in corner  Roh's death: Kim sends 'profound condolences'  Skorea President to personally pay respects to Roh  ROK police brace for ex-president's funeral

Arriving at the Gyeongbok Palace where the ceremony was held, at around 11:00 a.m. (0200 GMT), he was seated next to former presidents Kim Dae-jung and Kim Young-sam.

President Lee, with grim looks on his face throughout the ceremony, offered flowers to the late president after Roh's family.

While he was approaching the portrait of the former president to offer flowers, there were some jeers in the crowd, which the announcer had to silence.

South Korean President Lee Myug-bak (L) and his wife Kim Yoon-ok pay silent tribute for former President Roh Moo-hyun in his funeral service at the Gyeongbok Palace near the presidential Blue House in Seoul May 29, 2009. [Agencies]

President Lee has been criticized by some of the public, including Roh's supporters, as Roh chose his death amid the prosecutors' investigation on his bribe scandal.

Former South Korean president Roh's funeral was held Friday in Seoul's historic royal palace, Gyeongbok Palace, attended by some 3,000 people.

The funeral was followed by an on-foot procession, which mourners outside the palace were expected to join.

The procession was to make a stop at the central Seoul Plaza for a traditional memorial rite to wish peaceful rest for the deceased.

The ex-president's body will be cremated in Suwon, south of Seoul, afterwards, as he explicitly had asked for it on his note, with the remainder to be taken for burial near his home in Bongha Village.

Since Roh's death by jumping off a rock last week, nearly one million mourners have made the pilgrimage to the ex-president's hometown Bongha as of Friday morning.

 

 

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