Lonely Deaths Must Stop... Daegu City Council Member Baejisuk Urges Support for Public Funerals for the Unclaimed

The Right for Everyone to Die with Dignity

Scheduled to Take Effect This July Upon Plenary Session Approval

Daegu City Council member Bae Ji-suk.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Se-ryeong Lee] The "Daegu Metropolitan City Public Funeral Support Ordinance," proposed by Daegu City Council member Jisuk Bae as the main sponsor, passed the agenda review of the Culture and Welfare Committee on the 14th.

Council member Jisuk Bae proposed the ordinance with the purpose of supporting public funerals for unclaimed deceased persons and low-income groups who cannot hold funerals due to family disintegration and poverty.

She raised concerns about unclaimed deceased persons in Daegu being "disposed of" without proper funeral rites and voiced the need for improvement.

The ordinance defines the recipients of public funeral support as those who were registered residents of Daegu at the time of death and fall into categories such as unclaimed persons, low-income individuals whose relatives are minors, persons with severe disabilities, or elderly people aged 75 or older who are solely responsible and unable to manage funeral arrangements.

It stipulates that support for all or part of the funeral procedures should be provided in kind, such as manpower, goods, venues, and vehicles, with cash support allowed only in unavoidable cases. To promote cremation culture, burial costs will not be supported.

Council member Bae stated that the number of unclaimed deceased persons, who face social isolation and die alone due to family breakdown, poverty, and the increase of single-person households, has more than doubled from 78 in 2016 to 190 in 2020, increasing every year.

She argued that a public funeral system should be established to support funerals for unclaimed and low-income deceased persons, ensuring respect for the deceased and maintaining minimum dignity.

If the ordinance is approved at the plenary session scheduled for the 17th, it is expected to be officially implemented from July 1 of this year.

Council member Jisuk Bae said, "Every human being deserves a dignified end to life, and a society that sends off the deceased with dignity will also treat the living with respect." She added, "I hope that public funerals will be operated and established as a social security system where all citizens can conclude their lives with dignity."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.