Oh Se-hoon Visits Crematorium to Apologize for 'Funeral Crisis'... "Actively Considering Facility Expansion" (Comprehensive)

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jinyoung] Amid the saturation of cremation facilities due to the increase in deaths caused by the spread of COVID-19, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon announced on the 3rd that he would "seriously consider expanding cremation facilities."

On the morning of the same day, Mayor Oh visited Seoul Memorial Park and the Gangnam branch of Seoul Medical Center to inspect the additional operation status of cremation and enshrinement facilities and encouraged on-site personnel.

Later, in a meeting with the press, Mayor Oh said, "With the rapid increase in deaths, it has been an emergency situation for the past two weeks. Thanks to the cooperation of the staff, we are currently handling nearly double the usual number of cremations," adding, "We secured space to increase cremators in preparation for the rise in cremation demand 10 years ago, and we are now considering expanding the number of cremators on this occasion."

He continued, "Without securing a budget, we will actively consider increasing cremation capacity to prepare for emergency situations by formalizing this within a short period, about six months to one year."

Seoul City is currently operating an "Emergency Operation System for Cremation Facilities" and creating temporary enshrinement spaces to meet the demand for crematories and enshrinement spaces. The system operates to handle 72% more than usual. In the case of "Seoul Memorial Park," operations have been expanded from an average of 44 cases per day to 72 cases.

Additionally, 30 temporary enshrinement spaces are being created at the Gangnam branch of Seoul Medical Center, which will begin operation on the 4th. With this, the total number of enshrinement spaces in municipal hospitals will increase to 138.