Reports to 112 Now Available in English and Chinese... Interpretation Service Fully Launched

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The 112 specialized interpretation service, introduced by the police to respond to reports from foreigners received at the 112 situation room, will be fully implemented nationwide.

On the 2nd, the National Police Agency announced that the 112 specialized interpretation service, which was piloted last month in the Seoul area, will be expanded nationwide starting from the 3rd.

Previously, the police hired four interpreters for the two languages with the highest 112 interpretation demand (English and Chinese), provided them with specialized training related to crime reporting, and assigned them to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s 112 Comprehensive Security Situation Room. They supported on-site police officers when interpretation was needed for foreigner 112 reports and frontline security situations in Seoul last month.

Until now, when receiving calls from foreigners, the police responded by using interpretation services such as the Korea Tourism Organization’s '1330', the non-profit organization 'BBB Korea' (BBB), and the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family’s 'Danuri Call Center' to conduct three-way calls. However, there were concerns about difficulties in interpretation due to the urgency of the reporting scene making three-way calls difficult, and issues such as translating legal terms related to incidents.

Accordingly, as the COVID-19 pandemic stabilized and visits from foreign tourists increased, the police promoted the 112 specialized interpretation service for foreigners and piloted it in the Seoul area. It was found that the reception time was shortened by 2 minutes and 21 seconds compared to the existing interpretation service through quick communication between professionally trained interpreters and foreign reporters. From the 3rd, the service will be expanded nationwide to provide interpretation support.

The police plan to promote the service by distributing videos and leaflets on how to report to 112 at major airport arrival halls such as Incheon Airport and Gimpo Airport, railway stations, and foreign consulates in Korea so that visiting foreigners can use 112 to receive police assistance.

A National Police Agency official urged, “If foreign visitors to Korea experience crime victimization, please do not hesitate to report to 112, where you can quickly receive police assistance through professional interpreters.”

Meanwhile, the National Police Agency plans to analyze the effectiveness of the interpretation service and the increase in interpretation demand to expand the supported languages and number of interpreters in the future.

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