Seoul: The 62-year-old Roh died Saturday after leaping from a cliff behind his home, after coming under pressure from prosecutors questioning him about US$6 million he allegedly received while president from 2003 to 2008.

Mourners in black, heads bowed and shedding tears, gathered Friday in the courtyard of an ancient palace for the funeral of ex-President Roh Moo-hyun six days after he leaped to his death while being investigated in a deepening corruption probe.

Hundreds of thousands more filled the streets and a plaza in central Seoul awash in yellow, Roh's campaign color, to watch the funeral on large monitors as riot police sought to quell any protests by Roh supporters who accuse his conservative political opponents of driving the liberal ex-leader to his death.

After the funeral, Roh's coffin was carried on a hearse for the half-mile procession down Seoul's main boulevard to City Hall, where other mourners gathered for a "people's ceremony.