The Ulsan Metropolitan Police Agency is expanding rewards for "righteous 112 emergency calls" that contribute to crime prevention and life-saving, while responding to "malicious false reports" that waste police resources with a zero-tolerance policy.
The Ulsan Police Agency said Thursday that it is fully pursuing a "Correct 112 Reporting Culture" campaign centered on these measures.
Based on the "Act on the Operation and Handling of 112 Emergency Reports" (112 Report Handling Act), which took effect in July 2024, police pay up to 50 million won in rewards to callers who make significant contributions to crime prevention and citizen protection. The Ulsan agency paid a total of 8.84 million won in rewards to 41 citizens last year, followed by 3.15 million won to 14 people in the first half of this year, steadily increasing the scale of rewards. A representative case was a bank employee, identified as A, who in March grew suspicious of a customer withdrawing a large amount of cash and prevented voice phishing damage worth 80 million won.
By contrast, the agency is significantly raising the level of punishment for malicious false reports that create gaps in public safety. According to the Korean National Police Agency, some 4,700 cases nationwide were punished for false 112 reports last year. In Ulsan as well, 104 people were caught last year and 41 in the first half of this year for malicious false reports. In actual cases, a person in their 50s who, while drunk, made 202 false reports claiming "I will kill myself, I have a weapon," and a citizen who falsely reported being "kidnapped and confined" were caught and faced legal judgment.
Fabricating an emergency situation and reporting it to 112 can, depending on the case, result in the application of the Criminal Act's offense of obstruction of official duties through deception and the Minor Offenses Act. In particular, under the 112 Report Handling Act, offenders can face a fine of up to 5 million won.
The Ulsan Police Agency plans to apply a "one-strike-out" system that immediately files criminal charges even upon a single detection in cases of false reports where intent is clear and damage is serious. In addition, even for minor cases, if habitual behavior is recognized, the agency has decided to actively file civil damages lawsuits for lost police resources, separate from criminal punishment.
"To protect the golden time of citizens who truly need help at the most urgent moments, a correct 112 reporting culture is essential," an Ulsan Police Agency official said. "We will fully support righteous reports and sternly punish unjust false reports to build Ulsan into the safest city."
