Funeral Homes Can No Longer Force Bereaved Families to Sell Wreaths for 1,000 Won

Funeral homes will no longer be allowed to arbitrarily dispose of floral wreaths without the consent of the bereaved families.

In addition, bringing in uncooked outside food items such as fruit and beverages will be permitted, and prior explanation of funeral costs will become mandatory.

The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) announced today (August 25) that it has revised the "Standard Terms and Conditions for Funeral Homes" to include these measures.

Previously, consumer complaints had been raised as some funeral homes restricted bereaved families from disposing of wreaths sent by mourners, selling them instead to wreath collection and reuse companies, or uniformly banning outside food.

In fact, complaints were filed through the e-People portal stating that a funeral home demanded wreaths be sold for 1,000 won or threatened disadvantages if the bereaved tried to dispose of the wreaths themselves.

There was also a complaint that taking advantage of the fact that families have no choice but to accept unexpected additional costs, a funeral home quoted funeral expenses at up to 10 million won but ultimately charged 16 million won.

With this revision, the FTC made it clear that wreaths sent by mourners belong to the bereaved families.

The previous standard terms lacked clear regulations regarding the ownership and disposal methods of wreaths, prompting this supplementation.

Accordingly, funeral homes must now consult with the bereaved families in advance to dispose of wreaths.

Furthermore, while the previous standard terms had no separate regulations regarding bringing in outside food, the revised terms allow uncooked outside food such as fruit, beverages, and alcoholic drinks to be brought in.

To prevent hygiene accidents such as food poisoning, the brought-in of pre-cooked outside food such as rice, soup, pancakes, side dishes, and rice cakes will be restricted in principle.

However, even pre-cooked outside food will be allowed exceptionally if the business operator and the user agree in advance.

In addition, the standard terms specify the components of funeral service fees—such as facility rental fees, funeral-related commissions, funeral supplies costs, and cleaning/management fees—and state that funeral home operators must explain these to consumers before signing a contract.

The use of standard terms and conditions is not legally mandated.

However, as they were prepared by comprehensively considering the opinions of funeral home business associations, related ministries, and consumer organizations, the FTC expects funeral home operators to actively adopt these standard terms in the future.

An FTC official stated, "Disputes between business operators and consumers will decrease, and a desirable trading order will be established."

(File Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.