BUSAN — Use of the 119 Smart Emergency Dispatch System, introduced to digitize the patient transfer process, has collapsed to around 1% in the field, while hospitals fail to respond to nearly 90% of requests, lawmakers said at a parliamentary audit, pointing to persistent gaps in Busan's emergency medical transport system.
At the National Assembly Public Administration and Security Committee's audit of Busan on the 21st, Rep. Yong Hye-in of the Basic Income Party cited the city's emergency and essential medical transport conditions and criticized Mayor Jeon Jae-soo and city officials for a passive approach.
Citing an analysis of data submitted by the National Fire Agency and the city, Yong said use of the 119 Smart Emergency Dispatch System — built by Busan to raise hospital acceptance rates — fell from 6.3% in 2024 to 4.5% in 2025 and to around 1% in the first half of 2026. While nationwide use of the system has been rising, 99 out of every 100 transfers in Busan now rely on phone calls to find a hospital.
"Medical institutions do not respond at all to 89% of hospital acceptance requests made through the smart system," Yong said. "That is nearly double the national average, and it means paramedics in the field are falling back on the old method of making dozens of individual phone calls to ask whether a patient can be accepted."
"Even though the ER diversion crisis has continued for more than a year since the standoff between the government and the medical community, Busan has failed to put in place effective measures to require hospitals to accept patients or proper triage standards for transfers," she said. "Formal memorandums of understanding signed with medical institutions cannot protect the golden hour for residents."
Yong called on the city to build a genuine control tower for emergency patient acceptance. "Busan should reorganize its consultative body with local emergency medical institutions, apply strict standards to refusals without justifiable cause, and strengthen the regional emergency medical control center's authority over patient transfers and transport coordination," she said.
In response, Jeon said he was keenly aware that the 119 smart system was not working quickly between paramedics and hospitals in the field. "The difficulties on the ground in emergency rooms, including shortages of medical staff, are part of the picture, but we will move quickly to draw up effective transport and acceptance guidelines that can raise both the system's usage rate and hospitals' response and acceptance rates," he said.