Seoul considers building new crematoriums amid rising COVID-19 deaths

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon monitors the conditions of Seoul Memorial Park, a crematorium on the southern outskirts of Seoul, April 3. Yonhap

Seoul Metropolitan Government will actively consider building new crematoriums in addition to adding furnaces to existing ones in an effort to meet soaring demand for cremations from rising COVID-19 deaths, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon said Sunday.

Oh made the remarks to reporters during a visit to Seoul Memorial Park, a crematorium on the southern outskirts of Seoul, saying the demand for cremation is difficult to meet even though the facilities have been operating at full capacity.

"Workers in the field are in a very difficult situation as their workload has nearly doubled. I believe the situation has reached a critical point," Oh said. "We have secured room for adding 11 to 15 furnaces to cope with the rise in cremation demand. As an urgent situation has happened, we're considering adding furnaces."

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Oh said the city government will "actively consider" building additional crematoriums based on a forecast that a pandemic such as COVID-19 could become a regular occurrence.

"We will push for it in earnest in six months or a year even if a budget is not secured," he said. (Yonhap)

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