Don't call 119 to open locked doors: non-urgent calls clog emergency lines

/ Courtesy of the National Fire Agency

By Park Si-soo

Tens of thousands of calls to the 119 emergency center last year were to seek help for non-urgent trouble such as opening locked doors, capturing stray animals or removal of hives of wild bees in residential areas.

Nearly 53 percent of 805,194 calls that led to the dispatch of rescue workers were non-urgent, data showed, sometimes causing delays for urgent cases.

But the situation will change from as early as mid-April because the government plans to revise rules on rescue workers' dispatch.

The revision is primarily to let 119 ignore calls seeking help for apparently non-urgent problems, so rescue workers will better cope with emergencies.

Details will be decided at a meeting of senior officials of the National Fire Agency on April 10.