[Editorial] The Problem With Buying Shrine Facilities

Some of Seoul's district offices (gucheong) are buying private enshrinement facilities in other cities and provinces to keep the ashes of their cremated citizens. Starting this year the Seoul city government is paying for all expenses when district governments purchase such facilities in the greater capital region, so the trend will clearly grow in the second half of this year. It is hard to do nothing but criticize these district governments and the city given how strongly opposed residents are to having such facilities in their neighborhoods.

It looks like these district governments are not in violation of the law. There is no law against purchasing such facilities in other areas, and the Ministry of Health and Welfare recently issued an authoritative interpretation of the law on funerary affairs saying the practice is not illegal. In other words, any district government would be a fool for not doing the same, since it is not legally a problem and its superior government body is paying for everything. Add to that the fact that district citizens are so opposed to such facilities in their neighborhoods and you see aspects of the "hoarding" of them by these governments that is understandable.

The problem is that Seoul and district governments are taking the easy route about a sensitive issue where a large protest would be expected. The facilities in Gyeonggi Province and other cities and provinces may be privately run, but they are for the residents of those areas, so when district governments in Seoul buy them up it they are taking them away from the people who live in the areas where they are built. That is why the opportunistic method of forgetting the hard process of convincing their own residents and buying up facilities elsewhere with cash is not right. It would have to be serious for one local government outside of Seoul to threaten to revoke the business license of a facility bought by one of Seoul's districts. Thought it would be difficult and drawn-out, Seoul and its districts need to resolve the problem by convincing their citizens to accept the needed facilities within their own neighborhoods.

The Hankyoreh, 28 May 2005.

[Translations by Seoul Selection (PMS)]