South Korea to ensure suicide-prevention hotline 109 works even when phone bills go unpaid

Even people whose mobile phone service has been suspended for unpaid bills will be able to call South Korea's suicide-prevention hotline 109 from October.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Ministry of Science and ICT, and the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission said on the 8th that they are pursuing the designation of 109 as an emergency communications number. The measure will first be applied from the 1st of next month.

Hotline 109 operates around the clock, 365 days a year, under the law on suicide prevention and the creation of a culture that respects life. Calls do not charge the caller, but the number has not been classified as emergency communications like 112 and 119. That meant people with restricted outgoing mobile service because of unpaid bills could have difficulty reaching it.

Under the Telecommunications Business Act, carriers must guarantee connections to a number designated for emergency communications regardless of whether the user has overdue charges. The move followed public feedback on the presidential office's social media that people had been unable to receive counseling after their phone service was suspended because of financial difficulties.