Mourners are converging on the small village where former Korean President Roh Moo-hyun retired to before committing suicide yesterday:

A stream of mourners are paying respects to late President Roh Moo-hyun at his retirement home at Bongha village in Gimhae City.

A memorial altar for the former president was set up at the village hall late Saturday night a few hours after his body was transported from Pusan National University Hospital.

Top officials of the Roh administration including former Prime Minister Han Myung-suk, former Health and Welfare Minister Rhu Shi-min, former Justice Minister Chun Jung-bae burned incense and paid respects before the altar. Among the mourners were chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party Chung Se-kyun and chairman of the minor opposition Democratic Labor Party Kang Ki-gap.

Outside the village hall, thousands of supporters and citizens attended a wake with candlelights in their hands with many in tears. The mourners — many of them members of Nosamo, an association of Roh’s supporters — expressed saddness over the late president’s sudden death and outrage over the prosecution investigation that apparently led to his suicide.  [KBS Global]

I pretty much expected that this would happen after I first heard of Roh’s death:

Prime Minister Han Seung-soo was blocked from paying respects to the late former President Roh Moo-hyun at a memorial altar set up at his residence at Bongha village in Gimhae City.

Han visited the village at 10 on Saturday night accompanied by a group of officials in a bus. But a group of angry supporters of the former president and villagers blocked the entrance of the village and shouted “Go away.” at the prime minister and his group.

The prime minister’s group returned after staying about ten minutes at the entrance of the village.  (…………..)

Earlier in the day, Liberty Forward Party leader Lee Hoi-chang was pelted with eggs and plastic water bottles as he arrived at Bongha village in a minibus.   [KBS Global]

Current Korean President Lee Myung-bak has issued a statement calling Roh’s suicide a “tragedy”.  A riot would probably break out if Korean President Lee Myung-bak tried to show up to pay his respects.  However, here is what I didn’t expect to see:

Chung Dong-young, who served as unification minister under Roh, and his wife came to pay respects but were met with angry supporters who shouted at them “traitors.”

So why are they upset at Chung Dong-young and calling him a traitor?  It makes me wonder if there was bad blood between Chung and Roh due to Chung losing the election partly due to Roh’s extreme unpopularity.

There has been a alter set up for mourners in front of Doeksu Palace in Seoul, which probably in bad taste has been surrounded by riot police.  Roh’s family has decided that they do not want a state funeral and instead will have a family funeral.  Roh’s suicide note said he just wanted a small memorial near his retirement home.

Speaking of the suicide note it really wasn’t a note at all but rather a file saved on this computer:

In a suicide note left on his personal computer just an hour before he left home, Roh spoke of emotional suffering, the Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency said in a briefing.

“I’m indebted to too many people. The pain that I caused to so many people is too great. The pain in the coming days is unfathomable,” Roh said in the note disclosed by police.

“Due to my frail health, I cannot do anything. I cannot read or write. Don’t be too sad. Don’t blame anyone. Life and death are identical parts of nature. It’s fate,” the note said. It also conveyed his desire to be cremated and that a small headstone be set up near his home.  [Yonhap]

What I am wondering is if the Korean leftists will try and mobilize around Roh’s death to attack Lee Myung-bak with and try to launch more massive protests this summer similar to the US beef protests last summer?