Both Ruling and Opposition Parties Criticize False Disaster Alert: "Amateurish" "Reckless"

Regarding the false alarm of the 'emergency disaster text message' sent by the Seoul Metropolitan Government at around 6:41 a.m. on the 31st, politicians from both ruling and opposition parties unanimously criticized Seoul's clumsy administration as "reckless."

Kim Han-kyu, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, said on his social media (SNS) that day, "They gave a morning call with a disaster text message from early morning, then suddenly said it was not true," adding, "Amateur administration is a disaster. The Yoon Seok-yeol government and Oh Se-hoon’s Seoul city are two sides of the same coin."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On that day, Seoul sent an emergency disaster text message stating, "At 6:42 a.m., a warning alert was issued for the Seoul area. Citizens are requested to prepare for evacuation and ensure that children and the elderly can evacuate first," but the Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced it was a "false alarm."

Not only was the disaster text message a false alarm, but the lack of specific disaster details also caused confusion. Rep. Kim pointed out, "There was not even information on why it was a disaster or where to evacuate in the disaster text message," adding, "At the time the disaster message was sent, there was breaking news that North Korea had launched a missile, so many people must have been anxious."

Seo Eun-sook, a senior member of the Democratic Party, also expressed suspicion on SNS, saying, "I was startled by the loud siren sound," and questioned, "An hour later, they say it was nothing serious. Is this a welcome message for being in Seoul?"

There were also criticisms regarding discord between ministries. Park Sung-min, former senior member of the Democratic Party, said, "The Ministry of the Interior and Safety says Seoul issued a false alarm, but Seoul says the warning alert was lifted? With such poor coordination," and questioned, "Seoul city, please do your job properly. Will you respond like this even in an actual emergency?"

There was no division between ruling and opposition parties in criticizing Seoul’s false alarm. On the SBS program 'Kim Tae-hyun’s Political Show' that day, Cho Eun-hee, a member of the People Power Party, said, "It is truly absurd to issue a false alarm on such a serious matter concerning public safety," adding, "The Ministry of the Interior and Safety should thoroughly investigate this to ensure it never happens again and urge corrective measures."

Cho, who also served as Seoul’s Deputy Mayor for Political Affairs, explained the cause of the false alarm, saying, "There is a possibility that the missile launched by North Korea was a ballistic missile, and the system mistakenly recognized it as heading toward the metropolitan area," adding, "Even though machines do the work, it is ultimately done by people, and I think the people were too reckless."

She continued, "This system needs to be reviewed again, and the responsible staff must be retrained. Measures must be taken responsibly to prevent alarming Seoul citizens again."

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