Firefighters Alarmed by Consecutive Emergency Alerts... Revealed to Be "Children's Wedding Announcements"

Congratulatory Money Account Shared via Emergency Alert
Firefighters Outraged Over Use of System for Personal Announcements

It has come to light that fire officers in the Jeonnam region notified all staff of their children's wedding schedules through the "Emergency Alert Broadcast System," sparking controversy. This system was originally established as an emergency communication network to enable a swift response by fire personnel in urgent situations such as fires or disasters.

On June 11, News1, citing the Jeonnam Fire Headquarters, reported that Suncheon Fire Station sent out a message regarding a senior officer's child's wedding schedule through the Jeonnam Fire Headquarters Emergency Alert Broadcast System at approximately 3:09 p.m. on June 9. The message included the wedding date and time, venue, contact information, and a bank account number for congratulatory money. Fifteen minutes later, at 3:24 p.m., another message was sent in the same manner regarding the wedding schedule of a Naju Fire Station officer's child.

It has come to light that fire officers in the Jeonnam region notified all staff of their children's wedding schedules through the "Emergency Alert Broadcast System," sparking controversy. Photo by Asia Economy

The Jeonnam Fire Headquarters Emergency Alert Broadcast System is operated with the purpose of quickly disseminating information via KakaoTalk Messenger to firefighters in the event of a disaster. In practice, the system is also used for official internal notifications such as issuing response levels, announcing policies on drinking discipline, and communicating duty and shift schedules. However, some officers used the system for personal purposes, such as notifying others about family events like their children's weddings.

Among frontline firefighters, there has been growing backlash, with some questioning whether a child's wedding should be announced through an emergency system. On internal fire department bulletin boards, criticism has mounted, with posts stating that "the emergency system has been reduced to a general notification tool" and calling for "a system that allows lower-ranking staff to announce their own family events." Some firefighters also claimed that there have been cases where family bereavements were shared through the same system.

As the controversy intensified, Suncheon Fire Station issued an apology, stating, "We deeply apologize for sending a personal message through the Emergency Alert Broadcast System," and added, "We will use this incident as an opportunity to approach the operation of the official system with greater strictness and caution, and we will ensure that such incidents do not recur by handling our work more carefully. We apologize once again for any inconvenience caused." Furthermore, Suncheon Fire Station announced plans to strengthen the management standards for the official system and thoroughly review work procedures to prevent similar cases from happening again.