Oh Byung-kwon Acting Governor "Preparing Plans for Gyeonggi-do Cremation Facilities and Worker Morale Improvement"

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Gyeonggi Province is taking active measures to support crematorium workers and cremation facilities in the province, whose working hours have increased due to COVID-19.

On the 31st, Oh Byeong-kwon, Acting Governor of Gyeonggi Province, visited the Hambaksan Memorial Park in Hwaseong City to inspect the operation status of the crematorium and encourage the related personnel.

At the site, Acting Governor Oh said, "As the number of COVID-19 related cremations has increased, the working hours of workers have extended during the intensive operation period, which is concerning," adding, "Gyeonggi Province is preparing measures to boost workers' morale, including supporting facilities with increased labor costs."

The government has designated the period until April 15 as an intensive operation period to enhance cremation capacity, requiring each cremation furnace to operate 5 to 7 times and to open more than 30% of cremations to outside the jurisdiction.

Accordingly, the province plans to actively accept the government’s policy to minimize inconvenience to residents and provide 100 million KRW per facility from the disaster management fund to cover costs necessary for increasing cremation capacity.

Hambaksan Memorial Park is a memorial facility jointly established by six cities: Hwaseong, Anyang, Ansan, Siheung, Bucheon, and Gwangmyeong. It is managed by Hwaseong Urban Corporation and the Local Residents Support Council. Opened in July last year, it is equipped with 13 cremation furnaces, 26,514 columbarium niches, and 25,300 natural burial sites.

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