[2021 Muyeongo Report] "Detailed Muyeongo Statistics Needed... Legislative Measures Must Also Be Considered"

The Issue of Unclaimed Deaths Should Be Addressed by the Central Government, Not Local Authorities,
Standardizing Administrative Procedures and Establishing a System

Public Funerals Needed to Ensure Benefits Are Accessible Without Purchasing Goods or Services,
Instead of Leaving It Solely to the Funeral Culture Market

Cooperation Possible Through Funeral Management Outsourcing,
Involving Government, Local Authorities, and NGOs

Roundtable on Unclaimed Deaths. From the left, Heo Junsu, Professor of Social Welfare at Soongsil University; Joo Cheol, Director of Elderly Support Division, Ministry of Health and Welfare; Park Jinok, Executive Director of Nanum and Nanum./Photo by Kim Hyunmin kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Special Coverage Team = Team Leader Koh Hyung-kwang, Reporters Yoo Byung-don, Jung Dong-hoon, Lee Jung-yoon] The number of ‘lonely deaths’ is increasing. Amid changes in family composition such as family dissolution and the rise of single-person households, people marginalized in our society who cannot conclude death with dignity amount to an average of 4.15 per 100,000 population annually. In this situation, a forum was organized where academia, civic groups, and government officials could come together to discuss.

They viewed Asia Economy’s series of planned articles, ‘2021 Report on Unclaimed Deaths,’ as showing that unclaimed deaths are not simply caused by isolated factors but are located at the complex social problems’ periphery, including economic crises, aging population, increase in single-person households, and family dissolution. This is the first time among media outlets that key stakeholders involved in addressing the issue of unclaimed deaths gathered for a roundtable discussion. The roundtable, moderated by Lee Kyung-ho, Head of the Social Affairs Department, included Professor Heo Joon-soo of Soongsil University’s Department of Social Welfare (Dean of the Graduate School of Social Welfare), Park Jin-ok, Executive Director of the nonprofit organization ‘Nanum and Nanum,’ and Joo Cheol, Director of the Elderly Support Division at the Ministry of Health and Welfare.

◆Moderator= The number of ‘deaths that no one watches over’ is increasing.

Roundtable Discussion on Unclaimed Deaths. Huh Junsu, Professor, Department of Social Welfare, Soongsil University. Photo by Kim Hyunmin kimhyun81@

◆Park Jin-ok= Family bonds are not as strong as they used to be. In addition, the 40s breadwinners who were hit hardest by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) financial crisis have become unclaimed death cases starting about 20 years later. As families dissolve and family structures change, situations where there is no family to claim the body after death are appearing across a wide range of ages and regions. There is also concern that unclaimed deaths due to COVID-19 will appear more broadly in the future. Asia Economy’s ‘2021 Report on Unclaimed Deaths’ Part 1, which includes the unclaimed death index (number of unclaimed deaths per 100,000 population by basic local government) and the map graphic representing it, clearly shows this.

◆Heo Joon-soo= Unclaimed deaths are not a personal failure but are increasing due to structural failures in our society. Therefore, the state needs to take responsibility for these deaths. Currently, support for public funerals and unclaimed deaths is provided through local government ordinances, but this should be standardized as a national system with clear criteria.

◆Moderator= The statistics on unclaimed deaths are inconsistent. Can’t a standard be set?

◆Joo Cheol= Different departments handle unclaimed deaths depending on the local government. Sometimes the department responsible for basic livelihood security handles unclaimed deaths, but in cases of unclaimed deaths among basic livelihood security recipients, the local government head is designated as the claimant, so these deaths are not counted as unclaimed deaths. This causes some omissions in statistics by local government.

◆Park Jin-ok= The Ministry of Health and Welfare needs to issue work instructions or compile statistical manuals to produce clear national statistics. This is a matter of government interest and will. Especially, statistics need to be more detailed. If statistics are subdivided into cases where families refuse to claim the body, cases where there is no family at all, and unidentified skeletal remains, policy approaches can become more efficient.

Roundtable on Unclaimed Deaths. Joo Cheol, Director of Elderly Support Division, Ministry of Health and Welfare. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

◆Joo Cheol= Even when conducting unclaimed funerals, there is a division on whether to include them in unclaimed death statistics. There may be cases where family or acquaintances claim the body as claimants and conduct the funeral, and cases where they cannot claim the body for economic reasons but directly oversee the funeral. The former is not included in unclaimed deaths, while the latter is included. Some distortion of statistics is inevitable. I think it is necessary to listen to field opinions, revise related laws, and clarify this.

◆Moderator= What about legislation, amendments, and the role of the central government?

◆Park Jin-ok= The Funeral Services Act has limitations because its purpose is ‘public health and hygiene.’ It is not a law about how to conduct funerals after death. Therefore, the responsible departments differ by local government. A separate legal system such as a ‘Public Funeral Act (tentative name)’ for unclaimed persons and public funerals is needed. Only with such legal provisions can departments within the Ministry of Health and Welfare and local government departments be established.

◆Heo Joon-soo= Since financial independence varies by local government, whether or not public funerals are held and the procedures also vary. The quality of death changes depending on whether the place of death is Seoul or a provincial area, which is problematic. It is true that the central government’s interest is insufficient. The government is not being asked to take responsibility for all unclaimed funerals but needs to standardize administrative procedures and establish a system for unclaimed funerals.

◆Joo Cheol= The government’s concern is now ‘everyone should be able to go to their grave with dignity’ and ‘funeral costs should be affordable.’ They are considering how to establish legal grounds for this.

◆Moderator= Systematization of public funerals is also necessary. There is an opinion that comprehensive infrastructure should be further expanded from storage to enshrinement.

Roundtable Discussion on Unclaimed Deaths. Jinok Park, Executive Director of Nanum and Nanum. / Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

◆Park Jin-ok= Funerals are left to the market. It is a structure difficult to guarantee publicness. Funeral benefits are only 800,000 to 1.6 million KRW, and with this cost, even when using public funerals, there are cases where funeral services such as storage, enshrinement, and interment cannot be fully provided. Funerals should be accessible so that people can enjoy the benefits without purchasing goods or services. To implement public funerals like this, public funeral halls are essential. The reason Seoul City can conduct stable public funerals is that it has prepared dedicated funeral halls for public funerals.

◆Joo Cheol= More facilities and infrastructure need to be built in the public funeral sector. Most crematories are 100% public. In contrast, most funeral halls are private. There are criticisms that the costs arising here are not reasonable. Recently, local governments have been establishing comprehensive funeral facilities that include storage rooms, crematories, and funeral halls. If these functions are guaranteed in the public sector, funeral costs can be reduced. I think this model should increase more and more.

◆Heo Joon-soo= Not only the government and local governments but also NGOs can be entrusted with conducting funerals when implementing public funeral systems.

※This article was produced with support from the Korea Press Foundation’s government advertisement fees.