Roh's family asks to hold funeral in Seoul

GIMHAE, South Korea, May 25 (Yonhap) -- The family of late former President Roh
Moo-hyun asked the government to hold his funeral in Seoul instead of his rural
hometown in the country's southeast, the family's spokesman said Monday.

"We concluded it is desirable to hold the service in Seoul so as many people as
possible may take part in the funeral," said Cheon Ho-sun, a spokesman for Roh's
family. "The courtyard of Gyeongbok Palace may be appropriate for the funeral."
Roh's family agreed on Sunday to hold a "people's funeral" instead of a private
service, following a seven-day mourning period. The public funeral was expected
to take place in Bongha Village, some 450 kilometers south of the capital, on
Friday.
Under current law, South Korea's former and incumbent heads of state are entitled
to a state or a people's funeral.
The latest people's funeral was held in the palace for late former President Choi
Kyu-ha in 2006. Choi's funeral also took place in the front courtyard of
Gyeongbok Palace.
A state funeral follows a nine-day mourning period and has only been held once
here, for the late former President Park Chung-hee in 1979.
After the funeral service, Roh will be laid to rest near his residence in Bongha
Village, said Cheon, who served as senior presidential secretary for public
information during the Roh presidency. On a note that Roh left before his death,
he asked his body be cremated.
Prime Minister Han Seung-soo and his predecessor, Han Myeong-sook, who served as
prime minister under Roh, will jointly head a government committee that will
organize and oversee the state-arranged funeral service.
Roh, 62, jumped to his death off a mountainside near his home on Saturday
morning. He was under investigation over allegations that he and his family took
millions of dollars in bribe money from a local businessman known to be a
financial supporter of the former president.
Hundreds of thousands people have already visited the altars set up at Roh's
house and other places throughout the nation to mourn his death.
brk@yna.co.kr
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