Crowds mark ex-president's funeral
Thousands of people have filled the streets of Seoul for the funeral of former South Korea president Roh Moo-hyun.
His suicide, aged 62, six days earlier - amid a deepening corruption probe by the government - heightened grief and anger among the mourners.
Thousands took part in a solemn ceremony in the courtyard of the 14th-century Gyeongbok Palace before the hearse carrying Roh's body headed to a grassy plaza outside City Hall for emotional public rites attended by a reported 500,000 people.
Police in riot gear later moved in as the crush of mourners prevented the hearse from leaving the capital for a few hours.
Police dispatched some 21,000 officers to quell any protests by Roh supporters who accuse conservative political opponents led by President Lee Myung-bak of driving the liberal ex-leader to his death with the bribery investigation.
The criticism comes as Lee faces an increasingly belligerent North Korea, which just two days after Roh's death carried out a nuclear test in a move widely condemned as a violation of international law.
Roh died on May 23 after throwing himself off a cliff behind his home in the southern village of Bongha. Roh, president from 2003 to 2008, had recently been questioned about claims he and his family accepted £3.75 million in bribes during his presidency.
He denied the bribery allegations, but the accusations weighed heavily on a man who prided himself on his record as a "clean" politician in a country struggling to shake a deeply rooted culture of corruption.
His suicide stunned the nation, where the outspoken Roh - a self-taught former human rights lawyer who swept into office on a populist tide - was celebrated as a leader for the people and was a favourite among young South Koreans.
Though many were critical of his anti-establishment ways, others rallied around his efforts to promote democracy, fight corruption and facilitate rapprochement with North Korea.