Go to contents

Funeral for Ex-Pres. Roh Opens Today

Posted May. 29, 2009 06:48,   

한국어

The funeral for former President Roh Moo-hyun will open at 11 a.m. today in the front yard of Gyeongbok Palace in central Seoul.

After a ceremony hosted by the national funeral committee at Roh’s hometown of Bongha Village in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province, his coffin will be transported to Seoul.

The funeral service and ceremony will follow, after which his body will be cremated. The ashes will be temporarily placed at a Buddhist temple near his Bongha home.

Some 3,000 people including President Lee Myung-bak, former Presidents Kim Dae-jung and Kim Young-sam, politicians, officials, foreign diplomats, Roh’s relatives and funeral committee members will attend.

The ceremony will start with a performance by a military band, followed by the pledge of allegiance, a prayer for the dead, a briefing on Roh’s life by Public Administration and Security Minister Lee Dal-gon, eulogies by Prime Minister Han Seung-soo and former Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook, and a religious service.

A video of Roh will be shown and his wife Kwon Yang-sook, President Lee and other dignitaries will offer flowers and sing elegies. A 21-gun salute will end the funeral.

The coffin will be carried to Seoul Plaza for a 30-minute memorial service from 1 p.m. and will pass by Sungnyemun and be carried to Seoul Station. Followers will hold some 1,000 flags bearing an elegy behind it.

His body will be cremated at 3 p.m. in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, and will be moved to Bongha at 9 p.m., and will be placed at a temple on Mount Bonghwa for 49 days. The schedule for the ceremony at the village remains undecided.

Prime Minister Han Seung-soo, who is co-chairing the funeral committee with his predecessor Han Myeong-sook, said, “We really need your cooperation to help the memorial service to be held in a serious and orderly manner.”

Police will block the streets of Sejong and Taepyeong between noon and 2 p.m.



manman@donga.com uni@donga.com