Man's 13,000 emergency calls overwhelm South Korean services; others make tens of thousands of false alarms

A man in his 40s in City A repeatedly called emergency services, claiming he could not walk due to a torn foot. When emergency responders and police arrived, they found only a minor abrasion with no difficulty walking. Between January 2024 and May of this year, he made 13,139 such calls.

“

A man in his 40s in City A repeatedly called emergency services, claiming he could not walk due to a torn foot. When emergency responders and police arrived, they found only a minor abrasion with no difficulty walking. Between January 2024 and May of this year, he made 13,139 such calls.

In City B, a single person made 24,410 emergency calls within one year, effectively paralyzing the fire department's dispatch center. Separately, a citizen in City C faced investigation after calling for leg pain over 7,700 times between January of last year and April of this year.

“

In City B, a single person made 24,410 emergency calls within one year, effectively paralyzing the fire department's dispatch center.

The core issue is that even with hundreds or thousands of prank calls, emergency services cannot dismiss the possibility of a genuine emergency. This forces dispatchers to respond to every call. When repeat callers make abusive calls or remain silent, operators find it difficult to simply hang up. These frequent false alarms lengthen emergency dispatch wait times. Ambulances diverted for unnecessary calls mean that critically ill patients in need of immediate care during their golden hour may face life-or-death situations.

“

Separately, a citizen in City C faced investigation after calling for leg pain over 7,700 times between January of last year and April of this year.