Gov't emergency network not used until over an hour after first death in Itaewon

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Gov't emergency network not used until over an hour after first death in Itaewon

Published: 04 Nov. 2022, 17:41 Updated: 04 Nov. 2022, 17:43

Bang Moon-kyu, minister for government policy coordination, bows before the start of a press conference by the Central Disaster Management Headquarters at the government complex in Sejong on Friday. [YONHAP]

A government-wide civil emergency communication system set up in the aftermath of the 2014 Sewol ferry sinking was barely used to coordinate inter-agency action while the fatal Itaewon crowd crush unfolded last weekend, the Central Disaster Management Headquarters said Friday.

The Public Safety-LTE (PS-LTE) network, which can be accessed by handheld devices that resemble mobile phones, connects 333 public safety institutions, agencies and bureaus, including the National Police Agency, National Fire Agency and Korea Coast Guard, as well as sub-departments within local governments tasked with responding to crises.

The system was created after the sinking of the Sewol ferry in 2014 off Jindo, South Jeolla, when the Coast Guard and Navy were unable to coordinate their rescue efforts due to the incompatibility of their communications systems. 299 people, mostly high school students, died in that disaster.

Even though the PS-LTE network, which the government spent 1.5 trillion won ($1.06 billion) building, is meant to rapidly facilitate joint action by government agencies in response to natural disasters and other emergencies, it was only used to coordinate the official response to the Itaewon crowd crush at 11:41 p.m. on Saturday — about an hour and 30 minutes after the first death was confirmed.

Speaking at a press conference at the Government Complex in Sejong, Vice Minister for Disaster and Safety Management Kim Sung-ho noted that the PS-LTE network was set up so that “officials at relevant agencies can connect and talk to one another by just pressing a button, but this did not happen in practice.”

While noting that officials had been instructed on how to use the PS-LTE network, Kim said training likely “came up short” in preparing them to utilize the network in real-life situations.

Officials at the press conference also highlighted the shortcoming of the current distinction between phone calls made to 112, which is the immediate police response number, and 119, which connects to both the fire service and the emergency medical service.

The first calls to 112 regarding the crowd size in Itaewon on Saturday were made 6:34 p.m., a little less than four hours before the first emergency call was placed to 119.

While 119 reports on large-scale disasters are relayed to the National Disaster and Safety Status Control Center, a department under the Interior Ministry, 112 calls are handled locally.

Bang Moon-kyu, who serves as the minister for government policy coordination, acknowledged the need for 112 reports to also be relayed and said the government is aware of the problem.

BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]