Koreans mourn ex-leader
Güncelleme Tarihi:
The Associated Press
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mayıs 25, 2009 00:00
BONGHA, South Korea - The sound of wailing pierced the air as tens of thousands of South Koreans streamed to a rural village yesterday to pay their respects to former President Roh Moo-hyun a day after he killed himself by jumping off a rocky cliff overlooking his home.
The 62-year-old Roh, who relied on pluck and hard work to rise from his impoverished youth in rural Gimhae to become president in 2003, died Saturday after jumping from a promontory known as Owl's Rock that overlooks his home. He left behind a note describing his suffering over corruption allegations and asking to be cremated.
Several top officials, including the prime minister, were turned away from the mourning rites for the liberal ex-leader, who had a fractious relationship with his conservative opponents. Roh supporters pelted a bus carrying conservative politicians with eggs and doused lawmakers with water. The government and Roh's family agreed to hold a public "people's funeral" after a seven-day mourning period, most likely on Friday, former Roh aide Han Hyung-min said.
Fraud allegations
Roh's suicide, just 15 months after he left office, came as he and his family faced intense questioning about $6 million given to the Rohs during his presidency by a Seoul businessman implicated in a number of bribery scandals. The allegations weighed heavily on a man who prided himself on his "clean" record in a country struggling to shake a tradition of corruption. Prosecutors had been grilling Roh, his wife and their two children since last month.
"What's left for me for the rest of my life is just to be a burden to others," Roh wrote in a note on his computer minutes before leaving for the final hike to Owl's Rock with a security guard. "Don't be too sad. Aren't life and death both part of nature? Don't feel sorry. Don't blame anybody. It's destiny."
Roh's suicide stunned the nation of 49 million, which was divided during his presidency between those critical of his outspoken, antiestablishment ways and others who rallied around his efforts to promote democracy and fight corruption. Braving a downpour, nearly 80,000 trekked to Bongha, the village 450 kilometers south of Seoul where Roh had lived since leaving office, to pay their respects at mourning tents erected at the community center, police said.
World leaders offered Roh's wife and children their condolences. President Barack Obama said he was "saddened" by the news of Roh's death, while U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, a former South Korean foreign minister, said he was "shocked and deeply saddened."
Several top officials, including the prime minister, were turned away from the mourning rites for the liberal ex-leader, who had a fractious relationship with his conservative opponents. Roh supporters pelted a bus carrying conservative politicians with eggs and doused lawmakers with water. The government and Roh's family agreed to hold a public "people's funeral" after a seven-day mourning period, most likely on Friday, former Roh aide Han Hyung-min said.
Fraud allegations
Roh's suicide, just 15 months after he left office, came as he and his family faced intense questioning about $6 million given to the Rohs during his presidency by a Seoul businessman implicated in a number of bribery scandals. The allegations weighed heavily on a man who prided himself on his "clean" record in a country struggling to shake a tradition of corruption. Prosecutors had been grilling Roh, his wife and their two children since last month.
"What's left for me for the rest of my life is just to be a burden to others," Roh wrote in a note on his computer minutes before leaving for the final hike to Owl's Rock with a security guard. "Don't be too sad. Aren't life and death both part of nature? Don't feel sorry. Don't blame anybody. It's destiny."
Roh's suicide stunned the nation of 49 million, which was divided during his presidency between those critical of his outspoken, antiestablishment ways and others who rallied around his efforts to promote democracy and fight corruption. Braving a downpour, nearly 80,000 trekked to Bongha, the village 450 kilometers south of Seoul where Roh had lived since leaving office, to pay their respects at mourning tents erected at the community center, police said.
World leaders offered Roh's wife and children their condolences. President Barack Obama said he was "saddened" by the news of Roh's death, while U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, a former South Korean foreign minister, said he was "shocked and deeply saddened."