Cremated remains Priceless? These were ransomed for $2 million

March 21, 2025/Cemetery, Cremation, Regulations/

It’s not your father’s Death Care world anymore. Because if you are currently involved in the Death Care business it seems like everyday something new happens that we haven’t thought about before. . . . and hadn’t happened in the past.

Recently this story broke about what happened on South Korea’s Jeju Island. Jeju Island, as you can see here, is a small island off of the southern tip of South Korea.

It turns out that Jeju Island, which South Korea operates as a visa-waivered location to bolster tourism, recently was the site of a temple being broken into by tourists and selected cremated remains from a columbarium in the temple were stolen. Some time later families of the deceased remains were notified of a ransom by the alleged thieves. The ransom demanded $2 million in order to have the remains returned.

According to the above article “following a three-day search involving around 40 officers, police located and returned the urns to the families, Jeju police confirmed.”

Again according to the article, surveillance cameras in the temple captured the theft. It is suggested that the thieves have been able to get off the island without being captured and South Korean authorities have asked Interpol for their help in apprehending the suspects.

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

Funeral Director Daily take: Every day that I continue to look for articles on the world of Death Care it just seems to get stranger. There’s plenty of articles about the theft of bronze flower vases from cemeteries and even some articles about watches and jewelry being stolen from casketed bodies at visitations.

It’s just a world that I’ve never thought about. However, it reminds all of us that as funeral home owners/operators and as cemetery owner/operators we more than likely have some duty of care to do what we can do to limit loss of another’s property via theft..

It’s something that we should not have to think about, but in today’s world we do. . . . and, that’s a sad commentary to go into a weekend with.

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