The Korea Times
amn_close.png
amn_bl.png
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
amn_bl.png
Business
  • Tech
  • Bio
  • Companies
amn_bl.png
Finance
  • Companies
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Cryptocurrency
amn_bl.png
Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Thoughts of the Times
  • Cartoon
  • Today in History
  • Blogs
  • Tribune Service
  • Blondie & Garfield
  • Letter to President
  • Letter to the Editor
amn_bl.png
Lifestyle
  • Travel & Food
  • Trends
  • People & Events
  • Books
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
amn_bl.png
Entertainment & Arts
  • K-pop
  • Films
  • Shows & Dramas
  • Music
  • Theater & Others
amn_bl.png
Sports
amn_bl.png
World
  • SCMP
  • Asia
amn_bl.png
Video
  • Korean Storytellers
  • POPKORN
  • Culture
  • People
  • News
amn_bl.png
Photos
  • Photo News
  • Darkroom
amn_NK.png amn_DR.png amn_LK.png amn_LE.png
  • bt_fb_on_2022.svgbt_fb_over_2022.svg
  • bt_twitter_on_2022.svgbt_twitter_over_2022.svg
  • bt_youtube_on_2022.svgbt_youtube_over_2022.svg
  • bt_instagram_on_2022.svgbt_instagram_over_2022.svg
The Korea Times
amn_close.png
amn_bl.png
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
amn_bl.png
Business
  • Tech
  • Bio
  • Companies
amn_bl.png
Finance
  • Companies
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Cryptocurrency
amn_bl.png
Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Thoughts of the Times
  • Cartoon
  • Today in History
  • Blogs
  • Tribune Service
  • Blondie & Garfield
  • Letter to President
  • Letter to the Editor
amn_bl.png
Lifestyle
  • Travel & Food
  • Trends
  • People & Events
  • Books
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
amn_bl.png
Entertainment & Arts
  • K-pop
  • Films
  • Shows & Dramas
  • Music
  • Theater & Others
amn_bl.png
Sports
amn_bl.png
World
  • SCMP
  • Asia
amn_bl.png
Video
  • Korean Storytellers
  • POPKORN
  • Culture
  • People
  • News
amn_bl.png
Photos
  • Photo News
  • Darkroom
amn_NK.png amn_DR.png amn_LK.png amn_LE.png
  • bt_fb_on_2022.svgbt_fb_over_2022.svg
  • bt_twitter_on_2022.svgbt_twitter_over_2022.svg
  • bt_youtube_on_2022.svgbt_youtube_over_2022.svg
  • bt_instagram_on_2022.svgbt_instagram_over_2022.svg
  • Login
  • Register
  • Login
  • Register
  • The Korea Times
  • search
  • all menu
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Photos
  • Video
  • World
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment & Art
  • Lifestyle
  • Finance
  • Business
  • National
  • North Korea
  • 1

    INTERVIEWKorean adoptee in Germany reunites with birth family after 42 years

  • 3

    Korea to start mass production of KF-21 in 2024

  • 5

    Zoo shares sad story of what caused Sero the zebra to escape

  • 7

    Will exempting foreign nannies from minimum wage boost Korea's birth rate?

  • 9

    Sandstorm from China forecast to push up fine dust levels in Korea

  • 11

    Kim Nam-gil to embark on Asia fan-meeting tour

  • 13

    Will Apple Pay launch boost local iPhone sales?

  • 15

    INTERVIEWExpert pitches Laotian rural reform to solve NK's chronic food shortages

  • 17

    INTERVIEWForbes-listed entrepreneur pursues partnerships with Samsung, LG, SK to help Ukraine

  • 19

    Long viewed as an outsider, conceptual artist grabs global spotlight in his twilight years

  • 2

    Zebra captured after escaping from Seoul zoo

  • 4

    Kim Min-gyu, Go Bo-gyeol bid farewell to 'The Heavenly Idol'

  • 6

    Yoo Yeon-seok threatens to sue people spreading accusations about him

  • 8

    Han Suk-kyu on return of 'Dr. Romantic' with Season 3

  • 10

    Daughter of North Korean dictator seen wearing $1,900 Dior jacket

  • 12

    Retailers rush to adopt Apple Pay system

  • 14

    INTERVIEW'Welcome to world of art therapy'

  • 16

    Lee Som, Ahn Jae-hong to play married couple in Tving's new series

  • 18

    Indonesian students advise Korean bank on entering Indonesian market

  • 20

    US Fed lifts key interest rate amid banking sector fears

Close scrollclosebutton

Close for 24 hours

Open
  • The Korea Times
  • search
  • all menu
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Photos
  • Video
  • World
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment & Art
  • Lifestyle
  • Finance
  • Business
  • National
  • North Korea
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
Sat, March 25, 2023 | 20:04
Health & Science
Too many emergency text alerts? Gov't to halt daily COVID-19 notifications
Posted : 2023-02-03 16:02
Updated : 2023-02-05 16:50
Lee Hyo-jin
Print PreviewPrint Preview
Font Size UpFont Size Up
Font Size DownFont Size Down
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • kakaolink
  • whatsapp
  • reddit
  • mailto
  • link
A man enters a COVID-19 screening center in Yongsan District, Seoul. Friday
A man enters a COVID-19 screening center in Yongsan District, Seoul. Friday

Over 145,000 alerts sent during 3 years of pandemic

By Lee Hyo-jin

It's no exaggeration to say that emergency text alerts have become a part of daily life in Korea since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the early stages of the pandemic, local governments notified residents on a daily basis of the number of new cases in their area as well as contact tracing information on virus carriers.

The alert system has also been actively used by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency to inform the public about adjustments in the government's virus curbs and to encourage people to sign up for coronavirus vaccinations.

Since being adopted in 2005, the nationwide mobile notification system has been used by various government agencies to issue warnings about disasters and to provide guidelines in emergency situations. The notifications are sent to people in affected areas to warn about infectious diseases, fine dust, torrential rain, typhoons, extreme weather conditions and earthquakes. Last month, phone users were alerted about possible falling debris from a U.S. satellite, and warned to be careful while outside.

But the repetitive alerts about the coronavirus have been shifting public opinion on the system, with many growing increasingly weary and skeptical of the "excessive" number of messages.

According to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, over 145,000 COVID-19-related text alerts were sent nationwide by the central and local governments for three years between 2020 and 2022.

A man enters a COVID-19 screening center in Yongsan District, Seoul. Friday
These text alerts received on Aug. 30, 2020, are disaster notifications about new coronavirus infection cases sent from multiple local governments and strengthened social distancing measures from the health authorities. Korea Times file
December 2020 logged a record high of 10,490 messages, and March 2021 had the lowest figure with 2,351. Recent months have been averaging 3,600 messages per month.

Lee Young-joo, a professor at the department of fire and disaster prevention at the University of Seoul, pointed out that growing public fatigue over emergency alerts may lower their awareness of disasters.

"It is somewhat true that the notification system has been overused in the pandemic. And after the massive crowd crush in Itaewon, municipal governments have become highly sensitive about any possible disasters. They seem to be sending messages even when they are deemed unnecessary, out of concern that they might be held responsible for failing to notify residents in advance," he told The Korea Times.

"But this may make the public develop tolerance to disaster alerts and not act appropriately in the event of an emergency of greater magnitude."

He expressed worry that that the notification system might become a scenario like the well-known fable "The Boy Who Cried Wolf," ultimately undermining any protection provided by disaster warnings.

Against this backdrop, the interior ministry has recently recommended local governments to refrain from sending text messages about the number of daily new infections in their respective areas. Following the recommendation, municipalities including Seoul and Daejeon have halted sending daily alerts. Among metropolitan cities, only Busan and Jeju are still sending the text messages, according to the ministry.

Safety authorities are also seeking to operate the text alert scheme more efficiently and will come up with a revised manual by the end of this month.

Among the revisions being discussed is lowering the sound pressure level of alerts at nighttime to between 20 to 30 decibels (dB). Currently, the government issues a 40 dB alert in the case of an earthquake of 3.5 to 6.0 magnitude or a terrorist attack, while a 60 dB notification is issued for an earthquake of over 6.0 magnitude or an air raid alert.


Emaillhj@koreatimes.co.kr Article ListMore articles by this reporter
 
Top 10 Stories
1Zoo shares sad story of what caused Sero the zebra to escape Zoo shares sad story of what caused Sero the zebra to escape
2Burnout: Cardiothoracic surgery residents work 102 hours a week Burnout: Cardiothoracic surgery residents work 102 hours a week
3Churches, Seoul gov't unite to fight low birthrate Churches, Seoul gov't unite to fight low birthrate
4North Korea will pay price for reckless provocations, warns Yoon North Korea will pay price for reckless provocations, warns Yoon
5Genesis launches 2023 G90 sedan Genesis launches 2023 G90 sedan
6Second daughter of Daesang chairman promoted to vice president Second daughter of Daesang chairman promoted to vice president
7What's next for Do Kwon? What's next for Do Kwon?
8More companies adopt electronic voting amid increase in shareholder activism More companies adopt electronic voting amid increase in shareholder activism
9Over 70% of firms unwilling to embrace longer workweek Over 70% of firms unwilling to embrace longer workweek
10Samsung Display strike looms due to deadlocked wage negotiations Samsung Display strike looms due to deadlocked wage negotiations
Top 5 Entertainment News
1Kim Min-gyu, Go Bo-gyeol bid farewell to 'The Heavenly Idol' Kim Min-gyu, Go Bo-gyeol bid farewell to 'The Heavenly Idol'
2Yoo Yeon-seok threatens to sue people spreading accusations about him Yoo Yeon-seok threatens to sue people spreading accusations about him
3Han Suk-kyu on return of 'Dr. Romantic' with Season 3 Han Suk-kyu on return of 'Dr. Romantic' with Season 3
4Kim Nam-gil to embark on Asia fan-meeting tour Kim Nam-gil to embark on Asia fan-meeting tour
5Lee Som, Ahn Jae-hong to play married couple in Tving's new series Lee Som, Ahn Jae-hong to play married couple in Tving's new series
DARKROOM
  • Turkey-Syria earthquake

    Turkey-Syria earthquake

  • Nepal plane crash

    Nepal plane crash

  • Brazil capital uprising

    Brazil capital uprising

  • Happy New Year 2023

    Happy New Year 2023

  • World Cup 2022 Final - Argentina vs France

    World Cup 2022 Final - Argentina vs France

CEO & Publisher : Oh Young-jin
Digital News Email : webmaster@koreatimes.co.kr
Tel : 02-724-2114
Online newspaper registration No : 서울,아52844
Date of registration : 2020.02.05
Masthead : The Korea Times
Copyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.
  • About Us
  • Introduction
  • History
  • Contact Us
  • Products & Services
  • Subscribe
  • E-paper
  • RSS Service
  • Content Sales
  • Site Map
  • Policy
  • Code of Ethics
  • Ombudsman
  • Privacy Statement
  • Terms of Service
  • Copyright Policy
  • Family Site
  • Hankook Ilbo
  • Dongwha Group