Increased Attention on 'Daepiso' Locations Amid Controversy Over False Alarm Warning

Disaster Alert Texts Face Access Issues to Disaster Information Sites and Apps
Preparing for Emergencies... Increased Attention to Evacuation Facilities

Recently, Seoul City mistakenly issued a warning alert to citizens, causing a false alarm commotion, leading to an increase in people trying to identify shelter locations in advance to prepare for actual emergencies. The existence of shelters, which had been forgotten until now, has once again become the focus of attention.

On the morning of the 31st of last month, at around 6:41 AM, emergency disaster alert messages sounded on the mobile phones of Seoul citizens. Seoul City sent a message stating, "At 6:32 AM today, a warning alert was issued for the Seoul area. Citizens are requested to prepare for evacuation, and to prioritize evacuation for children and the elderly."

However, since the message lacked information about the type of disaster or where to evacuate, citizens were left confused. Alarmed citizens flocked to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety's National Disaster Safety Portal and applications (apps) to find shelter information, causing access failures. Naver, the largest domestic portal, also experienced a crash for five minutes starting at 6:43 AM due to a surge in users immediately after the emergency disaster message was sent.

Although the situation was resolved later with a correction message from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, voices are rising that, given Korea’s status as a divided country, it is necessary to familiarize oneself with countermeasures in advance.

On the 31st, due to a false alarm caused by an emergency disaster alert text message sent by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, more people are trying to familiarize themselves with shelters in advance. Photo by Yonhap News

First, since service disruptions are expected during disaster situations, it is advisable to check shelter information in advance. Shelters can be confirmed through the National Disaster Safety Portal or the Safe Step app.

It is also important to check evacuation facilities according to the type of incident. For evacuations above ground, cases include ▲biochemical attacks ▲earthquakes ▲building collapse and fires ▲heavy rain warnings. Conversely, in cases of ▲air raid alerts ▲nuclear attacks, evacuation to underground facilities is necessary.

In emergencies, one should first take emergency shelter in the nearest underground facility from their current location, then orderly move to civil defense evacuation facilities following civil defense alerts or guidance from civil defense personnel.

Currently, Seoul City has secured and manages approximately 3,222 shelter sites covering about 28.57 million square meters in preparation for emergencies.

Commonly used shelter facilities include underground spaces such as subway stations, buildings, tunnels, and apartment parking lots. In Yeouido, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, Yeouido Station (Lines 5 and 9), Yeouinaru Station, National Assembly Station, and Saetgang Station have been designated as shelters.

There is also an emergency shelter underground at the National Assembly building. It is T-shaped, connecting the main assembly building, the members' office building, and the National Assembly Library, with a length of 460 meters. However, since access requires identification cards for each building, it is not easily accessible to the general public.

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