The Korea Herald reported that South Korea’s 112 emergency line logged 21,012 foreign-language calls through August 2026, a figure close to all of 2025, as police prepare an AI upgrade.
Those figures came from police records shared with Park Ju-min, a Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker. At 21,252, the 2025 count was more than twice 2024’s 10,348.
112 centers take English and Chinese calls directly; other language requests go to outside interpreters, the newspaper reported. People in police interviews can also receive help from civilian interpreters, according to the report. Police figures shared with People Power Party lawmaker Kim Yea-ji put the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s interpreter roster at 629 for September. Chinese speakers numbered 198, with English at 97 and Vietnamese at 64.
At arrest, officers are required to state why someone is being taken into custody and explain access to legal counsel. Police told The Korea Herald that arranging an interpreter at the location on short notice can be difficult. Some regions use phone applications or interpretation devices. In Gyeonggi, officers continue to use a warning application introduced in 2011: a selected language triggers a spoken version and a written display.
The National Police Agency (NPA) is adding AI interpretation to a future 112 platform, designed to recognize the caller’s language and translate conversations with Korean officers as they happen. English, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese and Thai are on the planned language list. In August, the agency wrapped up an information-strategy plan, The Korea Herald reported.
According to the newspaper, development is due to conclude at the end of 2027, with system upgrades in 2028 and 2029. The proposed 2027 allocation is 13.6 billion won ($10.3 million), and expected costs across three years total 45.6 billion won. Police will keep existing interpretation options in use as work continues.
