Koreans turn out in force for Roh

Tens of thousands of South Koreans have turned out in Seoul for the funeral of former President Roh Moo-hyun, who died last week.

Top officials attended the ceremony, while huge crowds filled the streets.

Mr Roh dedicated himself to democracy and he would not be forgotten, PM Han Seung-soo said in a eulogy.

Roh Moo-hyun jumped off a cliff last Saturday amid allegations, which he denied, of bribery. His death has caused immense shock in South Korea.

Mr Roh was president between 2003 and 2008, when his term ended. Current President Lee Myung-bak's Grand National Party won the subsequent election, forcing Mr Roh's Uri party from office.

Supporters say Mr Roh was investigated for political reasons and some blame Mr Lee for a probe that they believe drove the former president to suicide, says the BBC's Chris Hogg, from Seoul.

Authorities feared protests and some 15,000 riot police were on stand-by for the funeral.

Some scuffles were reported and there was booing as Mr Lee laid a flower for his predecessor.

'Hunted by conservatives'

Millions of people have already visited altars around the country to pray for Mr Roh.

Early on Friday the funeral procession left Bongha, the village to which he retired, for the journey to Seoul.

As the hearse arrived in the capital, tens of thousands of supporters wearing yellow - his campaign colour - lined the streets.

The funeral was held at a former palace. Delivering the eulogy, Mr Han said that Mr Roh had "spent his life fighting for human rights, democracy and the end of authoritarianism".

"We will strive to follow your last wishes for reconciliation, unity and a better nation," he said.

Crowds watched the service on a huge television screen. Then a public memorial rite was held at a grassy plaza outside City Hall.

"I am so sad. He was a president of the common people," AFP news agency quoted Gum Young-Don, a 32-year-old accountant, as saying.

"Even if I did not support all his policies, such as the efforts to conclude a free trade deal with the US, he made great efforts to take care of the underprivileged and destroy authoritarianism in every corner of government."

"I think the former president was hunted by conservatives," said another mourner, housewife Lee Ae-ran, as she paid her respects.

Mr Roh's body will be cremated and his ashes taken back to Bongha.

Mr Roh - a human rights lawyer - came from a humble farming family, but rose to the highest office on a platform of clean government and reconciliation with North Korea.

Last month, he was questioned over allegations that he had taken more than $6m in bribes from a wealthy shoe manufacturer, Park Yeon-cha, who was indicted in December on separate bribery and tax evasion charges.

The former president later apologised for the scandal. But last Saturday he was killed in a fall from a mountain near his home, in an apparent suicide.