Heads of Hyundai Motor, Samsung mourn ex-president Roh

SEOUL, May 27 (Yonhap) -- Hyundai Motor Co. Chairman Chung Mong-koo and Samsung
Electronics Co. Vice Chairman Lee Yoon-woo joined a growing list of corporate
heads Wednesday who have paid their respects to former South Korean President Roh
Moo-hyun.
The 62-year-old Roh leapt from a cliff while hiking above his residence in the
village of Bongha, Gimhae, some 450 km southeast of Seoul.
In a note reportedly left on Roh's computer before his death, the former head of
state cited his bitterness over an intense government investigation into
allegations of corruption involving his family. Roh himself never admitted to
personal wrongdoing.
During his term from 2003 to 2008, the liberal Roh had often been at odds with
owners of family-run business conglomerates such as Samsung and Hyundai Motor,
accusing heads of some of South Korea's largest enterprises of illegitimate
father-to-son wealth transfers.
"Let's pray for the souls of the deceased," the vice chairman of Samsung said
before convening the company's weekly meeting of senior executives earlier in the
day.
The government will hold a state funeral on Friday for Roh at a historic palace
in downtown Seoul. So far, about 600,000 mourners have visited Roh's retirement
village of Bongha to pay their respects.
Scores of business tycoons including LG Chairman Koo Bon-moo and SK Energy
Chairman Chey Tae-won also paid their respects at a makeshift altar in Seoul set
up in memory of Roh.
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