The Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea National Fire Agency announced on the 17th that they will launch a 119 sign language interpretation system for the hearing and speech impaired. This system is part of digital livelihood support.
Minister Yoo Sang-im visited the Sign Language Interpretation Center that day to inspect the newly launched system and encourage center workers, including interpreters.
The Sign Language Interpretation Center is a communication relay agency that supports real-time interpretation so that hearing and speech-impaired individuals can communicate by phone using sign language and text. The main phone number is 107, and it has been operated by the Korea Information Society Agency since 2005.
Previously, hearing and speech-impaired individuals had to contact the Sign Language Interpretation Center to explain their situation in sign language before reporting to 119. An interpreter would then report to 119 on their behalf. In such cases, 119 would receive the report via the Sign Language Interpretation Center's phone number, making it difficult to confirm the individual's location, which could delay response times and hinder rapid action.
The newly launched sign language interpretation system connects the reporter, the Sign Language Interpretation Center, and the 119 comprehensive control center directly. It allows for three-way video calls among the hearing and speech-impaired individuals, the 119 comprehensive control center, and interpreters, enabling individuals to report directly to 119 via video call from their smartphones.
The staff receiving 119 reports will assess the individual's situation through video calls and request an interpreter from the Sign Language Interpretation Center. The interpreter will translate the individual's sign language into spoken language to convey the situation accurately, and 119 will be able to check the individual's location information in real time, allowing for a faster response.