Gimpo City is moving forward with plans to build a comprehensive, eco-friendly funeral complex to address the inconvenience residents face due to the absence of a local cremation facility and to establish a stable funeral welfare system.
The city announced Wednesday that it plans to complete a full-service funeral complex — equipped with a crematorium, a columbarium, a natural burial ground, a funeral hall and parking facilities — by 2032, in a proactive response to surging cremation demand driven by population growth and aging.
To ensure procedural fairness and community acceptance, the site selection will be conducted through an open, transparent public application process, the city said.
The city will kick off the project this month with the legislative notice for an ordinance governing the installation and operation of the funeral complex, followed by a series of public information sessions held across its towns, townships and neighborhoods.
The city plans to form a steering committee and solicit and review candidate sites in 2027, then proceed in 2028 with urban management planning, impact assessments and land compensation before breaking ground on construction.
"This project is an essential public undertaking to improve funeral welfare for our residents," a city official said. "We will make the entire process fully transparent to the public, actively incorporate their input and complete the facility as one that benefits everyone."
Gimpo residents have long faced serious inconvenience due to the lack of a cremation facility within the city, forcing them to use facilities in other municipalities and contend with booking delays, long-distance travel and restrictions on use by out-of-jurisdiction residents.
gilbert@heraldcorp.com
