The Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency announced on September 4 that it had operated a special crackdown period on false 112 emergency calls from July to August, resulting in 72 people being booked and 5 of them being arrested.
The agency launched this crackdown from July 1 to August 31 to establish basic public order in daily life, prevent waste of police resources caused by habitual and malicious false 112 reports and prank calls, and avoid delays in emergency response.
Photo zone in front of the main building of Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency. Photo by Lee Seryung
As a result, 72 people were booked, 5 were arrested, and 64 were referred to summary trials.
Eight individuals whose offenses were relatively minor, such as repeated prank calls, received warnings, and one person in need of treatment is being considered for protective hospitalization in consultation with their family.
Among the cases, a man in his 50s who made more than 300 false 112 calls over the past year, repeatedly threatening to "set a fire" and attempting to start a fire at his actual residence, was arrested in Miryang.
Another case involved a man in his 60s who made more than 2,600 emergency calls in a year, including 114 false reports in a single day such as "I killed someone" and "Please deliver coffee." He was apprehended and arrested in Gimhae.
From January to August this year, there were 683,825 emergency calls to 112, a decrease of 27,799 compared to 712,245 calls during the same period last year.
During the special crackdown period, there were 95,014 calls in July and 89,688 in August, representing decreases of 4.3% and 8.9%, respectively, compared to 99,319 calls in July and 98,502 in August last year.
The police analyzed that the special crackdown on false 112 reports not only helped prevent such calls but also had a positive effect on reducing the overall number of emergency calls.
Even after the end of the crackdown period, the Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency plans to maintain a constant monitoring system by linking with the "Special Crackdown on Violent Offenders in Daily Life," which continues until October 13, and to respond strictly by focusing on monitoring false callers and analyzing their call history.
Kim Sunghee, Commissioner of the Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency, stated, "The 112 emergency line is the most urgent reporting channel that citizens turn to when they most need police assistance," and urged, "Please use 112 only when necessary so that no citizen is deprived of police help due to false reports or prank calls."
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