This undated file photo of police officers on duty is provided by the Ulsan Metropolitan Police Agency. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Mar. 18 (Korea Bizwire) — Police on Monday began providing English and Chinese interpretation services for the 112 emergency police number around the clock in order to help foreigners more speedily call for police help, officials said.
Up until Monday, the interpretation services had been provided from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays since the services began in June last year with a four-member interpretation team.
As the services have proven effective compared with private interpretation services, the National Police Agency (NPA) decided to expand them to 24/7, officials said.
As part of the service expansion, the police have employed 12 additional English and Chinese interpreters, who will be deployed after receiving special training on handling crime reports.
“It is expected to significantly improve police services for foreigners,” an NPA official said, adding that police plan to expand the services to include four foreign languages, such as Japanese and Vietnamese.
(Yonhap)
