A funeral ceremony for the man is held according to Won Buddhism’s rituals at a hospital in Suwon, west of Seoul on Aug. 12 in this photo provided by the city government.
SUWON, Aug. 16 (Korea Bizwire) — The Suwon city government in Gyeonggi Province last week held its first public funeral of an unclaimed body, an individual who turned out to be a recipient of the national basic living security program.
The recipient was found dead in a guest room at an old inn around Suwon Station early this month. The cause of the death was assumed to be heart failure.
The police reported the death to a family member of the deceased, but the family member refused to claim the body.
Accordingly, the city government, together with the Won Buddhism, held a small and solemn funeral ceremony according to the religion’s rituals at a local hospital funeral hall.
In February, the city government enacted the Public Funeral Support Ordinance aimed at helping to hold funerals for those who are unclaimed or whose families cannot hold funerals due to poverty, to be performed in a dignified manner.
To ensure dignified funerals for its citizens, the city government subsidizes the public funeral cost for those who have no family members or whose family members refuse to claim the body.
The nation’s four major religious groups check the religion of the deceased and the religious group related to the deceased organizes the funeral ceremony.
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
