Metropolitan area faces shortages in cremation facilities amid rising deaths

[Anchor]

As the population concentrates in the metropolitan area, the number of deaths is significantly higher in this region compared to others.

Due to this, there is a shortage of cremation facilities, making it difficult to conduct proper funerals.

First, reporter Lim Myung-kyu has investigated the situation on-site.

[Report]

This is a crematorium that opened in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, in 2021.

Here, up to 55 bodies can be cremated in a day.

However, due to the lack of cremation facilities, there are still many cases where three-day funerals cannot be held.

[Yeon Ji-heum/Director of Hwaseong Urban Corporation: "Due to the prolonged heat since August, the cremation rate for three-day funerals dropped to 55%... and it has currently risen to 70% for operations."]

There are a total of 62 crematoriums in the country, and among them, there are only 7 in the metropolitan area, including 2 in Seoul and 1 in Incheon.

The cremation furnaces in the metropolitan crematoriums total 102, accounting for about 27% of the national total.

Considering that half of the population resides here and that there were over 144,000 deaths in the metropolitan area last year, the situation is not enough.

Therefore, the crematorium operated by Hwaseong City plans to add 5 more furnaces starting next year.

Fundamentally, there is a need for additional crematorium construction, and various local governments are pushing for this, but they are struggling to persuade residents.

Alleviating concerns about environmental issues, providing incentives, and improving the perception that these facilities are essential are key challenges.

[Yoo Ik-hee/Secretary of the Residents Support Committee for the Hambaeksan Memorial Park: "We know of cases where funerals could not be held in the metropolitan area and had to be conducted all the way in Taebaek, especially since the population is now concentrated in the metropolitan area..."]

People on-site emphasize that timing is important, as the persuasion and institutional procedures take a lot of time and the number of deaths is on the rise.

This is KBS News, Lim Myung-kyu.