Kwon Yang-sook, wife of the late former President Roh Moo-hyun, bows to mourners in front of the memorial altar in his hometown, Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province, Thursday. Roh’s funeral will be held today in Seoul.
/ Korea Times |
By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter
The funeral service for the late former President Roh Moo-hyun will take place today at 11 a.m. at Gyeongbok Palace in central Seoul.
The body of the former head of state will make the long journey from his rural hometown in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province, early in the morning to Seoul and then back again late at night. After the palace service, a public memorial service will be held at Seoul Plaza in front of City Hall at 1 p.m.
Roh's coffin will be carried out of his house in Bongha Village at 5 a.m. A short ceremony will take place at the village community center, where a memorial altar has been set up, before heading to Gyeongbok Palace, with the villagers bidding farewell to the former President.
The funeral will be held in the palace courtyard. About 3,000 invited guests will attend, including Roh's family, former heads of state, the incumbent President, Cabinet ministers and politicians, foreign ambassadors to Seoul, civic group members and citizens.
When the hearse enters the courtyard, a military band will play music. A silent tribute, briefing the history of Roh's life, memorial addresses by co-chairpersons of the funeral preparation committee ― Prime Minister Han Seung-soo and former Prime Minister Han Myung-sook ― and Buddhist, Christian and Catholic rites will follow.
A video clip will be presented to highlight Roh's achievements, including his inaugural oath. The service will end after a flower offering, a funeral hymn and a gun salute.
The service will be broadcast live on large screens in the Gwanghwamun area for those unable to enter the venue.
The coffin will then be moved to Seoul Plaza for the ritual that is usually held before heading for the burial place. TV host Kim Je-dong will preside over the ceremony at the plaza, with popular rocker Yoon Do-hyun and singer Yang Hee-eun among the singers to perform at the public ceremony.
After the rite, the bereaved family and mourners will march from the plaza to Seoul Station with 1,000 funeral streamers.
Around 3 p.m., Roh's body will be cremated at Yeonhwajang in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province.
His remains will be returned to his hometown at around 9 p.m. The urn will be temporarily laid at Jeongtowon, a Buddhist temple where the mortuary tablets for Roh's deceased parents are enshrined. The temple is just behind his home and the cliff from which he jumped to his death. They will be buried later at a place in the mountain near his residence. The bereaved family has not yet decided on the location.
The former and incumbent prime ministers issued a statement Thursday to appeal to the citizens to cooperate in maintaining order so that the funeral services will be held solemnly and reverently.
Police also declared the highest level of emergency. Cars will be banned on the street from Gwanghwamun to Seoul Station during the service. Citizens can participate in the ritual at the plaza and the march to the station.
rahnita@koreatimes.co.kr
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