TOMBSTONE ENGRAVING MISTAKE

[Anchor Lead]

An alarming incident occurred recently at the National Cemetery in Daejeon. The name of the spouse of one of the deceased buried at the cemetery, was mistakenly engraved on the wrong tombstone. The bereaved family was shocked to see an unexpected name engraved on the tombstone of their fallen hero. Here are the details.

[Pkg]

The spot next to the memorial stone has been dug out. This was done to check if someone else's remains had been buried there. The incident happened on June 8 at the national cemetery in Daejeon. A 64-year-old woman surnamed Chang was shocked when she visited her husband's grave at the cemetery on Memorial Day. The wives of Korea's men of national merit are buried next to their husbands when they pass away. Their names are also engraved on the tombstones. However, Chang witnessed the wrong name on her husband's tombstone.

[Soundbite] (SPOUSE OF VETERAN) : "I thought it was someone else's grave, even though my husband's name was there. This never happens even at regular cemeteries."

The cemetery administration office has discovered that the name was mistakenly engraved by a subcontractor back in April because of a mix-up in the numbers on the tombstones. The mistake had remained unnoticed and uncorrected for two months.

[Soundbite] OFFICIAL AT DAEJEON NATIONAL CEMETERY(VOICE MODIFIED) : "We've been taking care of this place about 40 years, but this has never happened before. It's a simple mistake."

The stone was eventually replaced on the same day of its discovery, but the bereaved family is still recovering from the shock.