Gov't to revamp police's 112 emergency call system

SEOUL, Nov. 2 (Yonhap) -- The government said Wednesday it will overhaul the current operating system of the police's emergency hotline, responding to mounting criticism about their failure to properly respond to numerous calls warning of overcrowding in Seoul's Itaewon district on the night of the tragic crowd crush.

Park Jong-hyun, a ranking official at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety in charge of social disaster response, said the government will come up with comprehensive measures to revamp the operations of the police's 112 emergency call service, as soon as the investigation into the cause of the Itaewon disaster is completed.

"The government will do its best to create a safer society by using this accident as a lesson. Measures will be taken to prevent the recurrence of similar accidents," Park said in a media briefing.

The announcement came after revelations that police ignored 11 emergency calls made to the 112 hotline Saturday night to warn of the dangerous size of the Halloween crowd in Itaewon prior to the crowd crush that took 156 lives.

Park also said the government will set up a taskforce in the day to improve its safety management for events that draw crowds of people without an organizer.

"Private experts will also take part in the taskforce to establish plans to enhance safety management of events and festivals where many people gather without an organizer," he noted.

ycm@yna.co.kr
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