Strengthening the Overseas Resident Protection System
[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] On the 23rd, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that it will launch a pilot service for consular call center 'free call app' and 'KakaoTalk' consultation, and implement GPS-based consular assistance to mark the 15th anniversary of the consular call center.
Until now, contact with the consular call center was only possible via landline phones, but from now on, if you install the 'Consular Call Center Free Call' app on your smartphone, you can make free calls and consult via KakaoTalk with the consular call center overseas. By calling through the free call app, it is possible to communicate with the consular call center overseas without bearing international call charges, and through KakaoTalk, the most widely used service by our citizens both domestically and abroad, necessary assistance can be received by chatting with consular call center counselors.
In addition, counselors will confirm the location of overseas nationals in need of help through GPS of the free call app and KakaoTalk with the consent of the complainant, and then contact overseas diplomatic missions to provide necessary consular assistance.
Lee Tae-ho, the 2nd Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, attended the 15th anniversary ceremony of the consular call center in the afternoon and emphasized, "Protecting the safety of our citizens residing overseas is one of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' most important responsibilities," adding, "The role of the consular call center, which handles incidents and accident complaints of our overseas nationals including travelers in cooperation with overseas diplomatic missions on the front lines, is crucial."
Currently, the consular call center operates with 24 general counselors and 36 interpreter counselors working in four shifts, providing 24/7 emergency response consultation services, and offers interpretation services in seven foreign languages (English, Chinese, Japanese, French, Spanish, Russian, Vietnamese).
Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also praised the counselors' efforts in a congratulatory video message for the 15th anniversary and urged the consular call center to continue developing and play a greater role in protecting overseas nationals. Ban said that he opened the consular call center in 2005 during his tenure as minister, and seeing its progress after 15 years brings back deep emotions.
Since its opening in April 2005, the consular call center has handled a total of 3.3 million consular consultations, including responses to major disasters and incidents. Up to the end of October this year, it has handled 270,000 consultations. Last year alone, the consular call center sent a total of 180 million roaming overseas safety messages.
The consular call center, whose roles and functions are expanding day by day, moved from the Chamber of Commerce to the Diplomatic Town in September to mark its 15th anniversary, expanding its office space from 240 pyeong to 320 pyeong. The number of staff increased from about 20 at the initial opening in April 2005 to 80.
The Vice Minister said, "Ahead of the enforcement of the 'Consular Assistance Act for the Protection of Overseas Nationals' in January 2021, accessibility and convenience to the consular call center will be dramatically improved through the launch of next-generation services such as the 'free call app,' 'KakaoTalk' consultation, and 'location-based' consular assistance," adding, "We plan to continue strengthening related systems so that overseas nationals can stay more safely in the future."
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