S Koreans gather for mourning after Roh's funeral ceremony

A huge portrait of the late former South Korean President Roh Moo-hyu leads the funeral hearse as it makes through a mammoth crowd that gather for a tribute during his funeral Friday May 29, 2009 in Seoul, South Korea. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)

Women in funeral attire cry during the funeral of deceased former South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun in Seoul May 29, 2009. (REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon)

People bid farewell as a hearse carrying a coffin containing the body of deceased former South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun moves on a street during the funeral for Roh in Seoul May 29, 2009. (REUTERS/Lee Jae-Won)

SEOUL, May 29 (Xinhua) -- Hundreds of thousands of South Koreans filled the central Seoul Plaza in tribute to the former president Roh Moo-hyun on Friday for a memorial rite held after the funeral ceremony.

The memorial rite started at local time 13:23 (0423 GMT), some 20 minutes later than its original schedule, as the funeral ceremony was prolonged, and ended in peace and order in around 30 minutes.

The rite was continued with an on-foot procession, followed by hundreds of thousands of people behind, first to Seoul Station, and then to Suwon, south of Seoul.

Roh's body will be cremated in Suwon as he explicitly had asked for it on his note, with the remainder to be taken for burial near his home in Bongha Village.

Mourners filled the plaza with waves of yellow, Roh's symbol color as it was used for his 2002 presidential election, with some of them tying yellow ribbons on their arms and necks or flying off yellow balloons to the sky to show respect to their late leader.

The streets near the plaza were also flourishing the yellow move, with as much riot police lined up in protection.

President Lee has been criticized by some of the public, including Roh's supporters, as Roh chose his death amid the prosecutors' investigation on his bribery scandal.

South Korean authorities permitted the Seoul Plaza, which had been closed since Roh's death in worries over protests, for the civilian gatherings for the whole day as long as they were held peacefully.

Since Roh's death, nearly one million mourners have made the pilgrimage to the ex-president's hometown Bongha as of Friday morning.

In addition, millions of mourners have paid their respects at some 140 altars nationwide, including one of the government's official altars located in Seoul Museum of History near the Seoul City Hall.

Earlier in the day former South Korean president Roh's funeral was held in Seoul's historic royal palace, Gyeongbok Palace, attended by some 3,000 people.

Roh, served as president of South Korea from 2003 to 2007, jumped off a cliff near his home in Bongha Village as the prosecution probed into his bribery scandal worth some six million U.S. dollars.