Going forward, even when mobile phone outgoing calls are restricted because of unpaid telecom bills due to economic hardship, people will be able to use the suicide prevention hotline.
The Ministry of Science and ICT, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, and the Anti-Corruption & Civil Rights Commission said on the 8th that they jointly designated the "Suicide Prevention Hotline 109" (hereafter 109) as an emergency communications number.
Currently, 109 is a hotline operated 24 hours a day, 365 days a year under the "Act on the Prevention of Suicide and the Creation of a Culture that Respects Life." It is a toll-free, collect-call number for callers. However, unlike 112 or 119, it was not an emergency communications number, so it could not be used when outgoing mobile calls were restricted due to unpaid telecom bills.
Based on a public proposal submitted via the Blue House social network service, the Ministry of Science and ICT, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, and the Anti-Corruption & Civil Rights Commission consulted with related ministries on improvement measures and designated 109 as an emergency communications number.
The Ministry of Science and ICT plans to have device manufacturers voluntarily cooperate to add 109 to mobile phones' emergency call lists.
Nam Seok, communications policy director at the Ministry of Science and ICT, said, "109 is the number people turn to at their most desperate moment and meets the requirements for an emergency communications number," and added, "Through swift institutional improvements and active cooperation with the telecom industry, we will quickly build a communications safety net so that anyone can use 109 at any time."