Officials from Sweden, Finland and India visit Seoul operations center Friday

South Korea shares its nationwide single-network model and operational experience

A radio transceiver used on South Korea's disaster and safety communications network [Newsis]
A radio transceiver used on South Korea's disaster and safety communications network [Newsis]

The Ministry of Interior and Safety said Friday it will host a field tour of the disaster and safety communications network's Seoul operations center for foreign public safety communications officials attending the 2026 Global Public Safety Conference.

Officials from government agencies in Sweden, Finland and India are among those taking part in the visit. At the operations center, they will observe the network's integrated management system and key functions, and receive briefings on how the network has been deployed at disaster scenes and on the operational experience accumulated over the years.

The disaster and safety communications network is a nationwide single network shared by police, fire departments, local governments and other disaster-response agencies. South Korea became the first country in the world to launch a nationwide LTE-based network of this kind in 2021, providing a communications platform for rapid information sharing and coordinated response across agencies when disasters occur.

The 2026 Global Public Safety Conference was held Thursday at Songdo Convensia in Incheon, drawing about 100 domestic and foreign public safety communications officials who shared updates on network development, service cases and future strategies, and discussed avenues for international cooperation.

At the conference, the ministry introduced South Korea's progress in building and operating the disaster and safety communications network, highlighted key operational experiences and outlined future development directions, exchanging policy and technology trends with foreign participants.

"This visit to the operations center gives foreign officials a firsthand look at how South Korea's disaster and safety communications network is run and how it is used at disaster scenes," said Park Hyeong-bae, director general for safety prevention policy at the Ministry of Interior and Safety. "We will continue to actively share our experience in building and operating a nationwide single network, and use that as a foundation to further expand international exchange and cooperation in the field of public safety communications."


thlee@heraldcorp.com