[Reporter’s Notebook] Companies Telling Customers to Use ‘Danggeun’ for Columbarium Relocation

"The company told you to use the second-hand trading platform ‘Danggeun,’ right?" When I first received a report about second-hand trading of columbarium spaces, I was so shocked that I had to ask back. When someone wants to remove the ashes they have enshrined in a columbarium for personal reasons, someone else has to ‘purchase’ that spot, but since the company does not handle the purchase, people have no choice but to trade on platforms like Danggeun Market. It’s similar to having to find a tenant before you can move out in a lease agreement.

Over the past decade, funeral culture has shifted towards cremation and columbariums as the norm. According to the Korea Consumer Agency, from 2019 to 2023, there were 1,027 consultations related to cemetery facilities such as columbariums and ossuaries. More than 200 inquiries and complaints are raised annually. Concerns about relocating columbarium spaces are among these issues. Few people know that columbarium spaces must be transferred through second-hand trading. However, this is the reality.

On second-hand trading sites, there are heartfelt posts like ‘I moved because the place is far from home’ or ‘I am transferring because my parents were buried together.’ These are requests to transfer columbarium spaces. Most private companies related to columbariums stipulate in their terms that after a certain period, only transfers and acquisitions are allowed.

Generally, consumers perceive columbarium contracts as a kind of lease agreement. They expect to receive a refund upon vacating the columbarium, not that they would have to engage in second-hand trading themselves. Families grieving a loss likely did not have the emotional capacity to carefully read the contract. Contract holders sign without realizing that they might have to trade the space second-hand someday, only to face a distressing situation later.

In 2014, the Fair Trade Commission recommended correcting unfair clauses regarding non-refundable columbarium fees. Although it suggested annual refund rates as guidelines, there is no enforcement, so limitations remain. The Fair Trade Commission holds the position that the terms are not legally problematic. From the consumer’s perspective, this is utterly irresponsible.

Should the government stand by while citizens suffer due to legal blind spots? The National Assembly also needs to clearly define the nature of columbarium contracts in the ‘Act on Funeral Services, etc.’ The farce where companies recommend contract holders to trade on Danggeun, and consumers have to buy and sell columbarium spaces among themselves through second-hand trading, must come to an end.