'Intoxicated Emergency Medical Centers' Opened in Succession... Preventing Waste of Safety and Police Resources

Chungnam Autonomous Police Committee's First Policy
Branches Opened in Jeonbuk, Jeju, etc... 16 Locations in 8 Provinces
Protecting Intoxicated Persons and Medical Staff
Reducing Waste of Personnel Responding to Drunk Individuals

Jeonbuk Police Agency Commissioner Lee Hyung-se (left) and Wonkwang University Hospital Director Yoon Kwon-ha are posing for a commemorative photo after signing a business agreement to establish an emergency medical center for intoxicated individuals on July 21.
[Photo by Jeonbuk Police Agency]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] Emergency medical centers for intoxicated individuals are opening one after another across regions nationwide. These centers are expected to have a "two birds with one stone" effect by protecting both intoxicated patients brought to hospitals and emergency room medical staff, while also preventing the waste of police resources.

The Chungnam Provincial Police Agency, Chungnam Autonomous Police Committee, and Chungnam Province signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) and opened an emergency medical center for intoxicated individuals at Seosan Medical Center on the 14th of last month. The emergency medical center at Seosan Medical Center has two beds dedicated to intoxicated patients and assigns dedicated police officers. The establishment of the emergency medical center for intoxicated individuals in Chungnam was the first policy initiative of the Chungnam Autonomous Police Committee. This was based on the observation that the proportion of intoxicated-related reports in Chungnam is higher than in other regions. Over the past three years, there have been a total of 65,355 intoxicated-related 112 emergency calls in Chungnam, accounting for 2.8% of all reports, exceeding the national average of 2.6%. The number of emergency medical centers for intoxicated individuals in Chungnam is expected to increase to four in the future.

New emergency medical centers for intoxicated individuals have also opened this year in Jeonbuk and Jeju. On the 21st of last month, the Jeonbuk Provincial Police Agency and Wonkwang University Hospital signed an agreement to establish an emergency medical center for intoxicated individuals at the regional emergency medical center. The Jeju Provincial Police Agency also opened an emergency medical center for intoxicated individuals in March through an agreement with Jeju National University Hospital. With the opening of three centers this year, the total number of centers nationwide has expanded to 16 across eight metropolitan cities and provinces. By region, there are ▲6 in Seoul (National Medical Center, Seoul Medical Center, Boramae Hospital, Red Cross Hospital, Dongbu Hospital, Seonam Hospital) ▲2 in Southern Gyeonggi (Suwon Hospital, Bucheon Daniel Hospital) ▲3 in Jeju (Seogwipo Medical Center, Halla Hospital, Jeju National University Hospital) ▲1 in Daegu (Medical Center) ▲1 in Incheon (Medical Center) ▲1 in Ulsan (Central Hospital) ▲1 in Chungnam (Seosan Medical Center) ▲1 in Jeonbuk (Wonkwang University Hospital).

The emergency medical center for intoxicated individuals was first introduced by the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency in October 2011 and is now marking its 10th year. Intoxicated individuals can become targets of crime or may cause disturbances or commit violent crimes themselves; this system transfers and protects them at hospitals. Intoxicated individuals who have lost consciousness due to alcohol, cannot be located by family or guardians, or are uncontrollable to the extent that they interfere with police work are subject to protection. It is reported that over 80,000 people received protective measures last year alone.

The expansion of emergency medical centers for intoxicated individuals has been one of the long-standing wishes of the police. The waste of police manpower at the scene due to intoxicated-related reports has been severe, but this system prevents that while also enabling protection of intoxicated individuals. The medical community has also responded positively, as having police officers stationed 24 hours helps prevent accidents in emergency rooms. Yoon Kwon-ha, director of Wonkwang University Hospital, said, "We expect that intoxicated individuals requiring emergency treatment can be protected together with dedicated police officers at specialized medical institutions, establishing an effective accident prevention system within the emergency center and creating a safe emergency room environment." A police official stated, "We will continue to make efforts to expand emergency medical centers for intoxicated individuals so that local police officers can focus on their core duties such as crime prevention and patrol."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.