Six crematory workers have been arrested on suspicion of stealing gold from the teeth of bodies after cremation, police said Thursday.

One of the suspects, identified only by his surname Lee, allegedly sold the precious metal he illegally collected from the bottom of braziers of a Seoul crematory he worked at for five years from August 2006 and pocketed 20 million won ($17,743), according to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency (SMPA).

The metal melted down from the gold-crowned teeth of bodies when they were cremated, the police added.

Cremation is one of the more popular options of funeral in South Korea, with 67.5 percent of residents choosing cremation last year, the government data showed.

The other five suspects, who served as stokers at crematories in the country's provincial areas, also stole gold pieces that came from the metal-capped teeth of cremated bodies for the year to August, to earn a combined 14 million won, the SMPA said.

Three local men who bought the stolen gold from the crematory workers were also booked without detention, according to the police.

Tho diverted gold pieces were reproduced as jewelry or for dental appliances to be circulated at local jewelry shops and dental clinics, the police added.

"Specific regulations on how to deal with the gold from cremated corpses have yet to be made, though taking them arbitrarily constitutes a criminal offense," SMPA officer Kang Youn-seok said, calling on local governments to devise proper rules to close the legal loophole.

(Yonhap News)