BEIJING - China on Sunday expressed condolence for the death of Roh Moo-hyun, former president of the Republic of Korea (ROK)

"We bemoan the unfortunate death of Mr. Roh Moo-hyun and express our deep condolences to his family," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu.

Roh attached importance to the development of the China-ROK relations during his presidency, Ma said. "The Chinese government and people will remember the active efforts and great contributions he had made to promote the overall development of the China-ROK relations."

ROK police tentatively concluded Sunday that Roh's death was a suicide by jumping off a cliff. He was found dead on Saturday amid an investigation into a bribery scandal he and his family were involved in.

SEOUL-- A funeral service for former President Roh Moo-hyun will be held this week near his rural home in the country's southeast as the government and his family agreed Sunday to hold a "people's funeral" following a seven-day mourning period,Yonhap news service reported.

The service will be held Friday at a public stadium in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province, according to Cheon Ho-sun, a spokesman for Roh's family.

Under current law, South Korea's former and incumbent heads of state are entitled to a state or a people's funeral. A state funeral follows a nine-day mourning period and has only been held once here for the late former President Park Chung-hee.

The agreement between the government and Roh's family came after negotiations over the family's initial request for a private funeral.

Roh, 62, died early Saturday after he fell from a cliff near his home in Bongha Village, some 450 kilometers south of Seoul.

The police have tentatively concluded that the former head of state leaped to his death as a memo that appeared to be a suicide note was later found on his computer.

"The police conducted an in-depth analysis of the computer yesterday in the presence of his family, and we found no evidence of manipulation, such as traces of another person writing the note," Lee No-gu, chief of the investigation bureau at the South Gyeongsang police agency, said.

Deceased former South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun is pictured in this photo released in Gimhae, southeast of Seoul, May 24, 2009, by the funeral committee for use at the memorial altar. South Korea's government and the family of former President Roh agreed on Sunday to hold a public funeral for the leader. Roh, who police said fell and died while mountain hiking early May 23, 2009, appears to have jumped to his death, his top aide said. Roh, in office for five years until early 2008, had recently been linked to a widening corruption scandal in which his wife had also been implicated.[Agencies]