South Korea's Funeral Industry Faces Financial Crisis

A recent audit revealed that Bumo Sarang, the seventh-largest funeral service provider in South Korea, invested approximately $40 million in a leveraged cryptocurrency ETF tied to Bitmine. The investment book value crashed to just $6.8 million by the end of 2025, resulting in a staggering unrealized loss of 49.3 billion won.

The company's financial struggles are part of a larger issue known as the 'zombie' funeral crisis. An investigation found that 43% of South Korean funeral mutual aid companies hold fewer assets than their customers paid in. This has led to concerns about the companies' ability to honor their obligations if large numbers of customers cancel.