South Korean police have arrested a man in his 50s who made more than 58,000 false calls to emergency services over the last two years.
According to The Korea Herald, authorities confirmed the suspect placed exactly 58,307 calls, with 51 of them classified as “code 2” or higher. Code 2 are incidents that demand immediate intervention because of the risk of serious crime.
The man was arrested on Tuesday, September 24, and is now under investigation for obstruction of performance of official duties by fraudulent means, an offense that can carry up to five years in prison or a fine of 10 million won (around $7,000).
1,800+ calls in just four days
During one spree in May 2024, he reportedly called police 1,882 times over four days. That’s roughly one call every three minutes for 96 hours straight. Officials said the outburst was triggered by an administrative penalty he’d already received for making false reports.
Examples of his fabricated emergencies included claims that he planned to kill his brother, that he was holding his brother captive, and that he himself was being detained, before quickly changing his story. In one call, when asked how long he’d been locked up, he answered “10 years.”
Police said the man admitted to making the calls out of habit when drunk and living alone. Since 2023, he has been fined seven times for false reporting, but investigators pursued an arrest warrant this time after he ignored repeated summons.