"Government Agencies as Shepherds? Major Issue of Losing Trust and Turning to Portals"

Ham Eun-gu, Professor at Korea Open Cyber University, SBS Interview
"Citizens Suffer from Misalignment Between Government Ministries and Local Governments"

Professor Ham Eun-gu of the Department of Fire and Disaster Safety at Korea Open Cyber University commented on the false alarm disaster text message related to the North Korean projectile launch, saying, "Later on, when truly important information comes, the public may not trust government agencies and instead turn to portals, which could cause a major problem."

In an interview on June 1st with SBS Radio's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show,' Professor Ham said, "It is true that there was a discord between the Ministry of National Defense, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and further the Capital Defense Command, as well as the Seoul Metropolitan Government, and in some aspects, Seoul's overreaction caused negative consequences," adding, "ultimately, the damage is borne by the people."

On May 31, when North Korea launched a space launch vehicle southward, a correction notice from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety stating "The alert issued by Seoul Metropolitan City is a false alarm" was displayed on the news screen in the waiting room of Seoul Station, Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

Regarding the cause of this incident, Professor Ham diagnosed that "there is a system where the Ministry of the Interior and Safety distributes information received from the Joint Chiefs of Staff to local governments and affiliated organizations, but there seem to be some deficiencies and slight issues in the interpretation of wording," pointing out communication was not smooth.

On the conflicting explanations where the Ministry of the Interior and Safety called it a 'false alarm' while Seoul said it was an 'overreaction but not a false alarm,' he pointed out, "there seems to have been a strong desire to avoid situations where one must take responsibility."

Regarding criticisms that Korea's response was lacking compared to Japan's disaster text message that issued an emergency evacuation order in Okinawa at the same time, he said, "It is true that Japan's information was much faster and that they have more detailed manuals," adding, "The evacuation locations and the level of alert in various situations should be clearly included."