Emergency alerts prompted scaled-down foreign dignitary event

The South Korean government suffered a setback due to the alert warning erroneously issued by the Seoul Metropolitan City. Foreigners who are unfamiliar with the Korean language and administrative system also expressed their anxiety.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare scaled down and proceeded with the showcase event of the Korean ophthalmic medical services, including visual acuity tests and retinal disease examinations, originally planned to be provided for the Prime Ministers and their spouses from five countries, namely, Vanuatu, French Polynesia, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, and the Ministry of Environment of Samoa, who are visiting Korea to attend the first South Korea-Pacific Island Countries Summit on Wednesday.

However, the dignitaries were caught off guard by the erroneous issuance of emergency alerts and notified their inability to attend. As a result, it was determined that the event would proceed in a scaled-down format, with only five individuals from three countries participating as originally planned. An official of the Ministry of Health and Welfare explained that the participants expressed fatigue from long-distance travel and requested a schedule change.

The foreign community living in South Korea voiced their confusion as well. “I searched for available flights, thinking it was an emergency,” said Jangmo, a 25-year-old Chinese graduate student. "Although I quickly realized it wasn’t a war, the events of the morning still make my hands tremble."


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