Seoul - South Koreans gathered Friday morning in Seoul amid tight security to pay their last respects to former president Roh Moo Hyun, who died Saturday after leaping from a cliff.

Roh, 62, president from 2003 to 2008, had seen his reputation as an anti-corruption campaigner tarnished by a bribery investigation, which is mooted a possible reason for his suicide Saturday.

The funeral ceremony at Gyeaongbok Palace, which started at 11 am (0200 GMT), was attended by 3,000 people, including Roh's successor, President Lee Myung Bak and former presidents Kim Dae Jung and Kim Young Sam. Thousands more watched the ceremony on large screens set up in the city centre.

A procession carrying Roh's coffin left his home village Bongha at 5 am. His ashes will later be returned to the village.

Almost 400,000 people visited a memorial site to the popular former president near Bongha, 450 kilometres south-east of Seoul, the Yonhap news agency reported, and
60,000 turned out daily at makeshift altars across the nation.

A year after retiring from politics, Roh was the target of a bribery investigation, facing allegations that he and his family received 6 million dollars from a businessman. An initial police investigation confirmed that a farewell letter left by Roh to his family on his computer was authentic.

In the letter, Roh spoke of having a difficult time, according to South Korean television.

"The pain that I have caused so many people is too great," he is reported to have written, adding that due to poor health he was no longer even able to read books.

Officials ramped up security for the funeral, fearing protests by Roh's supporters, who accused Lee's government of a politcally motivated investigation.(dpa)