Details of former President Roh Moo-hyun’s state funeral have been worked out:

The government has finalized the details of the funeral for the late former President Roh Moo-hyun, scheduled to take place at eleven a.m. Friday at Gyeongbok Palace in central Seoul.

The Ministry of Public Administration and Security said Thursday that Prime Minister Han Seung-soo and former Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook, co-chairs of the funeral organizing committee, held a meeting in the morning and finalized the plans for the government-organized funeral.

The ceremony will start with the playing of a requiem by a state band, a salute to the national flag and a moment of prayer for the late president, followed by a reading of a brief record of Roh’s life, memorial speeches and various religious rituals.

A video montage of images of Roh will be displayed prior to the bereaved family and others taking part in a ceremonial offering of flowers.

The funeral will end with a 21-gun salute, followed by the funeral procession.

About three-thousand people are expected to attend the funeral, including government officials, diplomatic envoys and citizens.

After the funeral, a public mourning service will be held at one p.m. at Seoul Plaza in front of Seoul City Hall.

Roh’s body will be cremated in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, on the way back to his hometown of Bongha in Gimhae. His ashes will be enshrined at Jeongtowon, a temple of Pure Land Buddhism, in the rural village in South Gyeongsang Province.  [KBS Global]

It will be interesting to see if the Korean left tries to take over the memorial ceremony at City Hall or not to launch anti-government protests?  I think it is pretty certain that they will try and launch some kind of protest at some point considering this is the start of protest season in Korea.  That is probably why the Korean courts have just confirmed the constitutionality of this protest law.

The US delegation to attend the funeral has been announced along with other foreign delegations:

Foreign delegations will attend former President Roh Moo-hyun’s funeral on Friday.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Moon Tae-Young said Thursday, the U.S. will send a delegation headed by its ambassador to Seoul, Kathleen Stephens. It will include Alexander Arivizu, deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asia and Pacific, and Michael Green, former senior director for Asian affairs at the National Security Council (NSC).

Former Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda will also lead a delegation to the funeral which will be held at Gyeongbok Palace in central Seoul.

The Foreign Ministry added that Uzbekistan has informed South Korea of its plan to dispatch Vice Economy Minister Galina Saidova, while the United Nations, Indonesia, and Mongolia are also moving to send emissaries to the funeral.  [KBS Global]

It seems Roh is pretty low on the priority list of world leaders for this funeral considering the people being sent to attend.  I have to wonder if UN Secretary Ban Ki-moon will attend or not considering he has Roh to thank for him to be in that position in the first place?