Busan City Wins Top Award for Excellent Funeral Policy Case ... Enhanced Support for Public Funeral System

Busan City received the top prize among all cities and provinces nationwide in the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s ‘Excellent Local Government Case Contest for Funeral Policy Implementation’ for its case of ‘Diversification of Public Funeral Service Promotion.’

District and County, Facility Corporation Officials Meeting.

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Since the enactment of the funeral ordinance, the city has made multifaceted efforts to promote the project, including distributing manuals and acting as a control tower to ensure unified support for public funerals among districts and counties along with budgeting for public funerals last year.

Since implementing the public funeral ordinance in June 2022, the city has pursued various measures to revitalize public funerals, including ▲establishing a dedicated public funeral mortuary at Yeongnak Park ▲creating city public funeral guidelines (manual) ▲allocating budgets for public funerals ▲opening public funeral obituary bulletin boards in districts, counties, and facility corporations ▲distributing public funeral promotional leaflets ▲producing a public funeral brand image (BI) ▲promoting through media outlets ▲and awarding outstanding districts and counties for public funeral promotion.

In particular, the city was the first among all cities and provinces nationwide to implement public funeral obituary postings, actively guaranteeing the participation of citizens interested in public funerals.

As of the end of January this year, all 16 districts and counties in Busan City have enacted ordinances related to public funerals, laying the foundation for actively promoting the public funeral project.

This year as well, the city has allocated a budget of 320 million KRW to continue support for unclaimed deceased persons. In response to the increasing trend of unclaimed deaths, the city plans to promote the project in various ways to strengthen the substance of public funerals.

Since last year, the city has allocated 320 million KRW for public funerals, providing 800,000 KRW per person. Notably, amid strong public interest in public funerals, support was provided to a total of 415 people, exceeding the target of 400.

Along with the establishment of the public funeral obituary bulletin board, the city promoted public funerals under the title ‘Annyeonghan Busan’ through media outlets and leaflets, driving a 132% increase in public funeral support cases in the second half of 2023 compared to the first half. This is evaluated to have been reflected directly and indirectly not only among citizens but also among various stakeholders such as funeral service providers.

However, as the number of unclaimed deceased persons increased from 399 in 2021 to 526 in 2022 and 619 in 2023, the city plans to ensure efficient budget management and strengthen the substance of public funerals through ▲prioritized use of the dedicated public funeral mortuary at Yeongnak Park to save costs (no mortuary usage fees) ▲budget securing efforts by the city and 16 districts and counties ▲discussions on utilizing the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s ‘Starlight Bus’ ▲support for religious rites according to the deceased’s religion.

Additionally, the city stated that it will conduct multifaceted inspections such as thorough review of public funeral claim documents, on-site visits, and consultations with funeral director training institutions to utilize proxy mourners. In this regard, the city plans to support more unclaimed deceased persons with public funerals than last year.

The support targets for public funerals are deceased persons within Busan City who are ▲unclaimed ▲low-income citizens unable to handle funeral arrangements (with bereaved families consisting only of minors, disabled persons, or seniors aged 75 or older) ▲or others recognized by the mayor or district/county heads as needing public funeral support.

When a death occurs, the district or county determines the eligible person either ex officio or upon application and holds the funeral ceremony within 24 hours at the dedicated mortuary.

To strengthen the substance of the public funeral project this year, the city hosted a meeting on February 14 with districts, counties, and facility corporations to discuss necessary matters for promoting the public funeral project.

The main topics mentioned at the meeting included ▲extending public funeral hours to guarantee participation ▲expanding the use of the dedicated public funeral mortuary at Yeongnak Park for efficient budget use ▲providing funeral support in accordance with religious customs to respect the deceased’s religion, and the revision of guidelines to strengthen the substance of public funerals was also discussed.

Furthermore, the city plans to explore ways to utilize prospective funeral directors who have completed theoretical and practical training as attendees and proxy mourners in cooperation with funeral director training institutions.

Mayor Park Hyung-jun said, “The number of unclaimed deceased persons is increasing every year due to the rise of single-person households and family disintegration. We will continue to support public funerals to maintain human dignity and accompany the final moments of life, so that all citizens can enjoy a peaceful Busan.”

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