Why Did Jindo County's 'Cold Wave and Heavy Snow' Disaster Alert Go to Jeju Residents?

Jindo Emergency Disaster Alerts Sent All the Way to Jeju, Causing Frustration
Over 100 Complaints Filed by Jeju Residents with Jindo County
Jindo County Explains: "SK Telecom Set a Wider Broadcast Area Than Usual"

Disaster alert from Jindo County was received by residents of Jeju City. Provided by reader.

Recently, more than 100 complaints have been filed with Jindo County after disaster alert messages intended for the Jeonnam region were received as far away as Jeju City due to the recent cold wave and heavy snowfall. Unverified information is also spreading rapidly in local online communities.

According to an Asia Economy report on the 6th, as severe cold and heavy snow have hit the Honam and Jeju regions, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, and local governments in Honam and Jeju have been sending frequent disaster alerts tailored to their respective regions to ensure public safety.

Although disaster alerts are useful notifications for safety, Jeju residents have recently been inconvenienced by receiving disaster messages from Jeonnam Province and Jindo County?areas unrelated to Jeju?over the past two to three days, leading to a surge of complaints in Jeju City.

In particular, as Jindo County disaster messages were received in large numbers, Jeju residents, already accustomed to alerts for their own area, were further disturbed by the constant notifications from another region. As a result, about 100 complaints have reportedly been filed with Jindo County.

Additionally, in Jeju online communities, suspicions have arisen about possible "personal information leaks" due to receiving messages from Jeollado, a place many have never visited. Some posts even question spouses about whether they have been to Jindo County, and inquiries about why disaster messages from other regions are being received continue to surface.

Usually, residents living near administrative boundaries do not find it unusual to receive disaster alerts from neighboring local governments, but it is rare for messages sent from Jindo County?over 130 kilometers away?to be received in Jeju.

It has been confirmed that Jeju residents who filed complaints with Jindo County are subscribers of SK Telecom.

An official from Jindo County explained, "Over 100 complaints from Jeju have been received. After checking with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, which is responsible for sending disaster alerts, and the three major mobile carriers, it appears that SK Telecom set a wider broadcast range than usual, which resulted in disaster alerts being sent to Jeju for the first time. We have requested the Ministry to correct the broadcast range settings."

The official added, "Jindo County does not have access to personal information such as phone numbers. The disaster alert system sends messages based on cell towers, so there is no need to worry about personal information leaks."

Meanwhile, the disaster alert system, called CBS (Cell Broadcasting Service), does not use individual mobile phone numbers but instead sends messages to all phones connected to a cell tower, similar to radio broadcasting. Therefore, there is no need to collect or process personal information, and concerns about the source of phone numbers are unfounded.