The Expanding Funeral Service Market, Launching the '10 Trillion Won Battle'

Coway to Enter Funeral Service Market in First Half of the Year
Woongjin Weighs Acquisition of Freed Life

Competition in the domestic funeral service market is expected to heat up further. The market size has expanded to around 10 trillion won, with the education sector selecting funeral services as a new business, and Coway, which has 10 million subscribers, also entering the market.

According to the industry on the 15th, the domestic funeral service market is estimated to have grown to its largest scale ever last year. According to the Fair Trade Commission's “2024 Prepaid Installment Sales Business Major Information,” as of the first quarter of last year, the advance payments of prepaid installment sales companies recorded 9.4486 trillion won, growing by more than 1 trillion won in one year. During the same period, the number of subscribers was 8.92 million. 99% of prepaid installment sales companies are funeral service companies. The industry estimates that last year’s advance payments reached 10 trillion won, with the number of subscribers around 10 million.

Fried Life professional funeral service scene. Provided by Fried Life

The funeral service market is expected to grow even more steeply this year. This is because Coway will enter the funeral service market through ‘Coway Life Solution,’ a life solution specialist company established last year, during the first half of the year. Coway, which focuses on rental services, has nearly 10 million subscribers. Coway is expected to start funeral service sales centered on its existing rental customers. It is anticipated that discounts and other benefits will be offered when rental customers of water purifiers, massage chairs, mattresses, etc., subscribe to funeral services.

The education sector, including Kyowon, Woongjin, and Daekyo, is also focusing on expanding funeral services. This is because they are seeking breakthroughs in a market based on the rapidly increasing senior population aged 65 and over, amid the reality of the “school-age population cliff,” where the number of elementary school students is sharply declining. Kyowon started its funeral service business early, 15 years ago in 2010. Kyowon, which has grown into the second-largest operator in the industry based on a single corporation, plans to strengthen its infrastructure by securing funeral halls and expand its senior business this year. Kyowon operates the learning package ‘Gumon Active Life’ product targeting seniors aged 50 and above. It aims to maintain its position as the second-largest operator through years of operational know-how and differentiated services.

Daekyo launched ‘Nadawn Graduation Ceremony,’ the only membership-based postpaid funeral service in Korea, last month through its subsidiary Daekyo Newif. Daekyo Newif is currently conducting related businesses ranging from long-term care insurance services for the elderly to the development and provision of senior cognitive enhancement content, based on Daekyo’s visiting education expertise. It plans to continue investing in this service this year.

Unlike Kyowon and Daekyo, Woongjin, which is not currently engaged in the senior business, is considering acquiring Freed Life to explore entry into the related market. If it acquires Freed Life, it is expected to link it with its existing education and health functional food businesses.

As competition intensifies, existing funeral service companies are securing competitiveness by strengthening their services. Boram Funeral Service has signed a strategic distribution partnership with Hyundai Rental Service and will newly launch home appliance bundle products. It has also started developing specialized funeral services targeting the dining and catering industries. Freed Life recently formed a strategic alliance with the marriage information company Noblesse Suhyeon. They plan to build a service that manages the entire marriage process from matchmaking to wedding by linking with the existing representative conversion service, the wedding service.

An industry official said, “As companies with diverse business portfolios enter the funeral service market, various service developments are expected, leading to even fiercer competition in the funeral service market.”