Seoul Jung-gu, the Nation's First to Introduce 'Apartment Building Shared Entrance Free Pass'... Why?

Jungbu Police Station & Jung-gu Office Create a Safer Jung-gu from Crime... Securing a 1-Minute Golden Time to Save Jung-gu Residents

The golden time in an emergency situation is just 5 minutes. Even if the police who receive the report and dispatch quickly arrive at an apartment complex, they must go through other barriers before entering the scene. For example, 96% of on-site police officers answered that they have experienced delays in arrival time because they could not open the main entrance door of the apartment complex immediately.

From now on, Jung-gu, Seoul (District Mayor Kim Gilsung) is expected to ensure that the golden time will never be missed due to 'not being able to open the main entrance door' in an emergency. The district office, in cooperation with Jungbu Police Station (Chief Lee Yonguk), will introduce the nation’s first 'Apartment Complex Main Entrance Free Pass' in 13 complexes within the area. The key point is to install receivers at the main entrance so that dispatched police officers can quickly open the main entrance door using a wireless remote control.

The wireless remote control method applied this time is significantly less likely to cause privacy invasion due to password leakage or private misuse compared to the method of pre-registering and sharing the main entrance password. Since the same receiver settings are used, it is also efficient for future expansion and installation.

One wireless remote control will be assigned per patrol car. It will be kept together with the vehicle’s smart key and handed over during day and night shifts to ensure 24-hour seamless management. This is to prevent the risk of loss due to individual possession.

The district office prioritized 'resident safety and privacy protection' above all and carefully managed the security of the receivers and remotes. To prevent duplication and hacking risks, they collaborated with CAPS to custom-make police-exclusive receivers and remote controls.

This project is a valuable achievement brought about by the joint efforts of the police and the district office. The idea came from the police, and the district office directly engaged the apartment complexes and supported the budget to make it a reality. To increase resident participation, Jungbu Police Station also actively stepped forward. On March 28, a joint resident briefing session was held for residents and management office heads, explaining the police’s report handling status and major cases.

As a result, as of the 15th, 13 complexes including Aegusahights, Sindang Samsung, Sindang Hyundai, Raemian Sindang Hiber, and Namsan Central Xi applied, showing enthusiastic responses. Receivers will be installed in these complexes in May. The district plans to analyze the effectiveness of the project with Jungbu Police Station in November and expand the project to apartment complexes under the jurisdiction of Namdaemun Police Station starting in 2025.

Apartment complexes are the most common form of housing in Korea, accounting for 60% nationwide and 46% in Jung-gu. Nearly half of the district’s residents live in apartment complexes, and the probability of police dispatch to these complexes is correspondingly high.

Since the introduction of the emergency vehicle exclusive license plate system in 2022, the barriers at apartment complex entrances open automatically, but the main entrance doors still need to be opened by security guards or the reporters themselves. If the security guard is absent or the reporter and perpetrator are in the same space, the door cannot be opened, causing the golden time to be missed.

The district expects that the time from report reception to arrival at the scene can be reduced by more than one minute through this project. One minute in an emergency can determine life or death, so even a few seconds of reduction is very meaningful.

Kim Gilsung, Mayor of Jung-gu, said, “Protecting the lives and safety of residents is the most important and fundamental duty of local governments,” and added, “We will invest all possible efforts and resources to secure even a few seconds of golden time and work closely with the police to make Jung-gu safe from crime.”