SKT "Receive Disaster Alerts from Any Country Even on the Opposite Side of the Earth"

[Asia Economy Reporter Seol Gina Jo] At 11:44 AM on the 12th, when an earthquake of magnitude 6.1 or higher occurred 142 km northeast of Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, SK Telecom sent earthquake information messages immediately to 6,452 customers staying in Japan.

In this way, SK Telecom roaming customers can now receive disaster information messages from the country they are staying in for free.

On the 20th, SK Telecom announced that it has launched an ‘Emergency Disaster Text Alert Service’ in partnership with the Korea Meteorological Administration to provide local disaster information for the safety of customers visiting over 200 countries.

SK Telecom provides disaster information of the country of stay free of charge via SMS messages to its roaming customers regardless of time differences. The emergency disaster text alert service started in May with Japan and Taiwan and is now expanding to over 200 countries including the United States and Switzerland starting today.

SK Telecom explained that although the number of departures has significantly decreased due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, this service was prepared to quickly provide information in case of disasters in the visited country for customers who have no choice but to travel abroad for business trips or long-term stays.

Customers can receive disaster information simply by turning on their phones upon arrival, regardless of whether they use a roaming plan.

The types of disasters covered by the emergency disaster texts include earthquakes, volcanoes, and tsunamis. In the event of an earthquake, the message is sent to regions in over 200 countries including the United States and Japan, while volcano and tsunami alerts apply to East Asia. When a disaster occurs, information such as the type of disaster, occurrence time, and location of the disaster is sent in Korean.

Additionally, the emergency contact number for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Consular Call Center (+82-2-3210-0404) is sent together to the customer, enabling them to report damage or request rescue, supporting evacuation as quickly as possible.

Previously, disaster information could only be received from local telecom operators in some countries that had introduced disaster text systems, but most messages were in English or local languages or sometimes not received at all.

SK Telecom explained that it is significant that disaster information can now be accurately delivered in Korean regardless of early morning, nighttime, or weekends, thereby further enhancing customer safety.

In the future, SK Telecom plans to strengthen cooperation with the Korea Meteorological Administration and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to shorten the message delivery time by advancing the disaster text system. Also, through ICT such as 5G and AI, it plans to provide various disaster information beyond earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanoes, as well as additional information on medical institutions and rescue agencies in the country and region of stay.

Ryu Jeong-hwan, head of SK Telecom’s 5GX Infrastructure Group, stated, “We will continue to leverage SKT’s ICT infrastructure to devise various solutions to protect public safety and strive to fulfill our role as a social safety net.”