A promotional image for the Emergency Ready app. (image: Ministry of Interior and Safety)
SEOUL, Dec. 9 (Korea Bizwire) — The Ministry of Interior and Safety said Monday it plans to start providing emergency notices on severe weather conditions and disasters in English and Chinese this month.
Under the plan, government ministries will first send the emergency messages to the state-run Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), which will then provide translations of the messages in English and Chinese, the ministry said in a press release.
The translated messages will be sent out as push alerts to people who have downloaded the ministry’s Emergency Ready mobile app.
The ministry has been providing safety information via the app since 2014, but some of the automated translations were reported to have been erroneous.
Through translations provided by a team at KTO, which provides 24-hour interpretation services to foreigners, the ministry said it hopes to provide more accurate information to foreign residents and overseas visitors.
Urgent messages, such as those on earthquakes and floods, will continue to be provided through automated translations, it added.
(Yonhap)
