SEOUL, November 13 (AJP) - Five habitual prank callers have been reported to police for making a combined 8,710 nonemergency calls to the 119 emergency hotline over the past year, disrupting emergency response operations, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said on Friday. One caller alone made 2,661 phone calls and sent 2,886 text messages between September 2025 and August 2026.
The city government said it repeatedly warned the callers to stop but filed criminal complaints after they continued. It excluded cases involving possible phone malfunctions or older adults seeking help with everyday problems. Seoul warned that repeated prank calls could delay responses to urgent situations such as fires, accidents and medical emergencies and vowed to take strict action against those who continue to misuse the hotline.
Tags: Seoul, 119 hotline, emergency services, false reports, public safety
The city government said it repeatedly warned the callers to stop but filed criminal complaints after they continued. It excluded cases involving possible phone malfunctions or older adults seeking help with everyday problems. Seoul warned that repeated prank calls could delay responses to urgent situations such as fires, accidents and medical emergencies and vowed to take strict action against those who continue to misuse the hotline.
Tags: Seoul, 119 hotline, emergency services, false reports, public safety
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