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Remains of ex-ROK president buried

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-07-11 11:14

SEOUL: Family members and supporters of late ROK President Roh Moo-hyun bade their final farewell to him on Friday in a ceremony marking the burial of his remains 49 days after his suicide.

A honor guard carries a portrait of late former ROK president Roh Moo-hyun as Roh's family members follow during a burial ceremony to place Roh's cremated remains into a tomb at his hometown in Gimhae, southeast of Seoul, on Friday. [Agencies]

Roh, president from 2003-08, threw himself off a cliff on May 23 amid a corruption probe into himself and his family. His death stunned the country, with millions of people paying their respects at mourning sites across the nation, and his funeral drawing hundreds of thousands of mourners.

His cremated remains, which had been kept at a Buddhist temple after the May 29 funeral, were buried on Friday in his hometown of Bongha, 450 km southeast of Seoul. The burial came after a 49-day memorial rite, a Buddhist practice to mark the entry of a deceased person's soul into another world.

Television footage showed black-dressed family members and supporters of Roh bowing in a burial ceremony amid a dirge.

Roh's suicide, just 15 months after he left office, came as he and his family faced intense questioning about $6 million given to them during his presidency by a businessman implicated in a number of bribery scandals.

The allegations tarnished the image of Roh, who prided himself on being a "clean" politician in a country with a long history of corruption.

Young voters liked him because he promised to stand up to the United States. Others favored his policies to promote democracy, fight corruption and push for reconciliation with the DPRK.

AP