Ministry of the Interior Did Not Send Disaster Alerts Directly, Requested Yongsan-gu to Send Twice

Disaster Alert Can Be Sent but Directed to Yongsan-gu
Yongsan-gu Sent Disaster Alert Only at 12:11 AM Next Day
Ministry of the Interior and Safety: "If Local Governments Had No Sending Authority, It Would Have Been Even Later"

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] Although the Ministry of the Interior and Safety holds the authority to send disaster alerts, it did not send them directly and instead requested Yongsan-gu to send disaster alerts twice. The ministry explained that the reason for requesting Yongsan-gu was that "it is more effective for an agency familiar with local circumstances to send them."

At the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters briefing that day, Kim Seong-ho, Director of the Disaster Safety Management Headquarters, responded to criticisms that the disaster safety communication network, National Disaster Management System (NDMS), and disaster alerts under the ministry’s jurisdiction did not function properly by saying, "We deeply regret not being able to send disaster alerts promptly."

The first disaster alert sent by Seoul City on October 29, the day of the tragedy, was at 11:56 PM, stating, "Emergency accident in front of Hamilton Hotel, Itaewon, Yongsan-gu. Traffic control is currently in effect. Please detour." This was 1 hour and 41 minutes after the tragedy occurred.

Yongsan-gu sent its disaster alert at 12:11 AM the next day. On the day of the tragedy at 10:53 PM, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety instructed Seoul City and Yongsan-gu via the National Disaster Management System to send disaster alerts and dispatch on-site situation managers. After the local governments delayed sending disaster alerts, the ministry issued a second directive to send them. The ministry encouraged Yongsan-gu to send disaster alerts at 11:38 PM.

Despite not responding swiftly themselves, the ministry explained that if they had not granted sending authority to local governments, the alerts would have been sent even later. Director Kim said, "Granting the authority to send disaster alerts to metropolitan cities, provinces, and city/county/districts is also to enable rapid response to disasters. If the process required approval from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, disaster alerts would have been sent later than now," he said.

The time the ministry notified each government department and local government of President Yoon Seok-yeol’s disaster-related instructions was also more than 30 minutes after receiving them. The Central Disaster and Safety Situation Room received the president’s instructions at 11:37 PM that day, and the Disaster Information Management System notified departments and local governments at 12:16 AM. A total of 39 minutes was wasted.

Director Kim said, "Because the situation was so urgent, the president’s instructions were first disseminated through media reports. Time was consumed while organizing that information."

Regarding the ministry’s statement that it would review shortcomings in its work processes, it said about the internal audit plan, "There are deficiencies in the reporting system and disaster safety communication network, so we are focusing on reviewing institutional improvement measures for those parts."

The ministry plans to assess social disaster safety levels for each local government starting next year. Director Kim explained, "The nature of risks varies depending on the location and degree of urbanization of the region. The intention is to improve the overall safety level of local communities through different prescriptions and consultations according to the risk patterns."

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