Does a Cemetery Have an Expiry Date? Understanding Temporary Burial Systems.

Is there no expiration date for cemeteries? If burial sites were created once and continued indefinitely, the problem of graves piling up could eventually cover the entire country. To address this issue, the government introduced the "temporary burial system" in the year 2000. As of January 13, 2001, it was mandated that the initial usage period for graves in public and private cemeteries across the country would be 15 years, with the option to extend it up to three times. The plan was to reopen graves once their usage period had expired.

 

According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, there are approximately 645,000 graves subject to the temporary burial system nationwide. However, this only accounts for legally established graves, and there are many more unreported or abandoned graves with severed ancestral ties.

 

However, when the first deadline arrived in January 2016, this law could not be implemented. Due to unpreparedness in clearing graves, the government and the National Assembly hastily extended the usage period for graves by an additional 15 years, leaving about 7 years left on the current deadline. Experts believe that without proactive measures from the government starting now, it will be challenging to clean up abandoned burial sites across the nation.

 

To clear graves that have exceeded their storage period, it's crucial to first comprehensively assess the current state of cemeteries nationwide. Without this assessment, there's a risk of unintentionally disturbing graves. However, after conducting a sample survey in 2010, the government essentially gave up on conducting a nationwide assessment due to the high cost involved.

 

At that time, the Ministry of Health and Welfare entrusted the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (now Korea Land and Geospatial Informatix Corp., LX) with a pilot project to investigate cemetery conditions. LX selected five sample sites, including Sangnok-gu in Ansan, Okcheon-gun in Chungcheongbuk-do, Jangsu-eup in Jeonbuk, Jangpyeong-myeon in Jeonnam, and Samdong-myeon in Namhae-gun, and conducted a comprehensive survey of cemeteries. The results indicated that approximately 15.6% of all cemeteries were estimated to be abandoned graves.

 

The problem was the cost when expanding this survey nationwide. Investigating abandoned graves requires precise information about when the graves were established and whether there are any living relatives, necessitating personnel to visit each site and confirm the details visually. Even with the lowest estimated budget, the cost of the survey alone was projected to be 2.221 trillion KRW, and additional costs in the billions were anticipated for relocating or reburying remains. Consequently, the government chose to postpone the project for the time being.

 

A representative from the Ministry of Health and Welfare stated, "We plan to conclude preparations with local governments by 2027." However, the situation has not significantly changed from eight years ago, and local governments remain skeptical.

 

Most importantly, due to a lack of public interest, securing support for cemetery maintenance projects is challenging. An official from a local government that participated in the 2010 pilot survey stated, "When local governments focus on cemetery issues, even residents and lawmakers criticize, saying, 'Why are you spending the budget there? It's better to build another road instead.'"

 

Since the introduction of the Burial Act in 1961, cemetery management has gradually become more organized. However, many citizens are unaware of the temporary burial system, and the tradition of ancestral graves still holds strong, making it difficult for the government or local authorities to initiate grave clearance efforts. An official from the Ministry of Health and Welfare mentioned, "Unlike foreign countries, South Korea has a sensitive response to cemeteries, and we must consider even emotional aspects."

 

Some argue that the legal penalties defined by the law are too severe and lack practicality, given the cultural significance of graves. According to Article 40 of the Burial Act, failure to dismantle facilities or cremate or reinter remains within the stipulated usage period may lead to imprisonment for up to one year or a fine of up to 10 million KRW. This has led to protests, with claims that individuals should not be labeled as criminals for failing to clear ancestral graves.

 

Professor Lim Sang-kyu from the Graduate School of Law at Kyungpook National University argued in his paper "Penalties and Problems of the Burial Act" (2016) that "traditional practices inherited from examples like burials should not be directly designated as crimes." He suggested that administrative sanctions such as corrective orders and mandatory fines should be prioritized over punishment.

 

According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, there are approximately 645,000 graves subject to the temporary burial system nationwide. However, this only accounts for legally established graves, and there are many more unreported or abandoned graves with severed ancestral ties. Some argue that focusing solely on public and private cemeteries is not meaningful, and instead, a project to reevaluate existing communal burial sites may be more necessary.

 

Kim Tae-bok, president of the Korean Society for Land Administration, stated, "The temporary burial system was introduced as part of a burial suppression policy when South Korea's cremation rate was around 35%. At this point, its effectiveness has greatly diminished, and it might be more worthwhile to eliminate this system and undertake a project to reorganize existing communal cemeteries."