11 Trillion Won Funeral Service Market Sees Kyowon Life and Corasol Shake Up the Landscape

Kyowon Life Overtakes Boram Group to Claim No. 2 Spot by Advance Payments
Corasol Jumps 20 Places in One Year with Rental Bundle Products
Funeral Plans Expand Beyond Ceremonies to Travel, Home Appliances, and Healthcare

As the domestic funeral service market has grown to a scale of 11 trillion won, Kyowon Life and Coway Life Solution (Corasol) are standing out with remarkable growth. Based on advance payments, Kyowon Life has overtaken Boram Group to become the second largest player in the industry. Corasol, too, has raised its ranking by 20 places in just one year, significantly boosting its presence. Analysts say that as the range of services covered by funeral plans expands from funeral-centered offerings to travel, home appliances, healthcare, and more, companies with strong affiliate assets and brand trust are driving changes in the market landscape.

According to the Fair Trade Commission on July 3, the total amount of advance payments held by 76 prepaid installment service providers in Korea stood at 11.3544 trillion won as of the end of March this year. This represents a 9.9% increase compared to 10.3348 trillion won a year earlier. During the same period, the number of subscribers also rose by 17.8% to 11.31 million.

The prepaid installment service industry consists of prepaid funeral service packages and installment travel products. Of these, advance payments for funeral service packages amounted to 11.2426 trillion won, accounting for 99% of the total, with 11.07 million subscribers representing 97.9% of all subscribers. The domestic funeral service market has thus grown into an industry worth over 11 trillion won.

There have also been changes in the industry leadership rankings. Kyowon Life’s total advance payments reached 1.7367 trillion won as of the end of March this year, up 16.5% year-on-year. Maintaining double-digit growth for a second consecutive year, the company surpassed Boram Group (1.6817 trillion won) to rank second in the industry.

The expansion of conversion services is cited as a key driver of this growth. Kyowon Life has broadened its service areas into travel, home appliances, and education by linking with other group affiliates such as Kyowon Wells, Kyowon Tour, and Red Pen. Kyowon Life’s conversion service usage increased by 122% year-on-year in 2023, by 80% in 2024, and by 67% in 2025. Although the proportion of ‘travel’ in total conversion service usage declined from 75% in 2024 to 67% in 2025, this was due to an increase in the use of other life care services, such as healthcare and wedding services, in addition to travel.

Kyowon Life plans to continue strengthening its conversion services based on synergy with group affiliates. A Kyowon Life representative stated, “Given the rising trend in conversion service usage, more customers are viewing funeral plans not just as products for funerals, but as life care services covering the entire life cycle. In line with these changes, we will continue to develop new life care services to widen the range of choices for our customers.”

Corasol, a latecomer in the market, is also growing rapidly. Established in October 2024, Corasol saw its advance payments surge from about 100 million won as of the end of March 2025 to 6.1 billion won as of the end of March this year—a nearly 60-fold increase in just one year. Its ranking also jumped by 20 places to 51st, compared to the previous year. A Corasol representative said, “The current growth rate of advance payments is two to three times faster than the early sales trends of our competitors.”

Corasol’s key differentiation is its rental fee discount benefits. Customers who newly rent or re-rent Coway products and simultaneously sign up for funeral service packages can receive rental fee discounts. Upon maturity or as needed, customers can convert to other care products, such as funeral or travel services, according to their preferences. In addition, by offering membership benefits such as healthcare and asset management, Corasol aims to expand the scope of traditional funeral-focused services into everyday benefits.

Corasol plans to expand its business this year by increasing its sales channels and launching new products. Recently, it signed a multilateral business agreement (MOU) with Coway, Hana Tour, and Hana Card for the establishment of a customized integrated life care platform. Based on this, Corasol will launch an exclusive travel conversion product co-planned with Hana Tour within the year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.