A user demonstrates how to use a mobile app for the One-touch SOS service to report a crime to the 112 Call Center. / Courtesy of MOPAS

The Ministry of Public Administration and Security (MOPAS) and the National Policy Agency (NPA) have made progress in apprehending offenders and rescuing victims using their mobile report system.

The ministry and the NPA said Monday that they have arrested criminal suspects in 21 cases, including 16 sexual assaults, since the launch of the so-called SOS Public Relief Service in April last year. The service also helped the authorities find five missing children.

An official said the relief service is becoming a new security system for those who are more vulnerable to crimes such as children and women.

The service is currently available in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province. The government plans to expand the service to South Chungcheong, South Jeolla and South Gyeongnam provinces and Jeju Island in cooperation with the 112 Call Center by July. A nationwide system will be completed and operational by the end of the year.

The core part of the system is the One-touch SOS service that is offered to elementary school students. Its 112 App is available for minors to protect them from criminal attacks, such as kidnapping or sexual molestation.

The Relief Service is a system that allows citizens to report a crime without any verbal communication using mobile phones, including smartphones, and special U-relief devices in emergencies.

One of the latest cases was the arrest of a sex offender who broke into the home of a 20-year-old woman in Yongin, south of Seoul, April 18 in an attempt to rape her. Police managed to catch the suspect on the scene just 10 minutes after the victim reported the case using the One-touch SOS service on her mobile phone.

The ministry and the police plan to promote the use of mobile system to better protect the lives and safety of the people.