Quick-thinking South Korean police officer rescues woman after silent 112 call for help

The wordless phone call received a rapid police response thanks to Senior Patrol Officer Kim Hye-jin’s instincts and training

A quick-thinking police officer in South Korea recognised a silent emergency call as a cry for help and used non-verbal cues to guide the caller – a domestic violence victim unable to speak – to safety.

The National Police Agency shared details of the case in a social media video released on Tuesday, highlighting a crucial lifeline in a country grappling with domestic violence cases.

At around 8am on March 28, the Jeju Provincial Police Agency received a call on its 112 emergency hotline. Senior Patrol Officer Kim Hye-jin, who responded to the call, suspected that something was wrong when the caller remained silent.

Instead of passing it off as a false report, she told the caller to tap on the speaker of the phone twice if in danger.

Two taps were heard. Kim then told the caller that they would start tracking her location and prompted her to confirm that she was in danger by tapping a number button on the phone.

The caller responded with frantic taps before hanging up. Kim immediately classified the case as top priority and issued an emergency dispatch to the scene.

Police found the caller, a woman in her twenties, crying after being assaulted by her boyfriend following an argument. She was escorted safely back to her family.

“We don’t simply dismiss unanswered calls. We will use a variety of methods to assess the danger. We’re here to help in any situation,” said Kim, urging the public to call in any emergency, even if unable to speak.

Help on tap

The National Police Agency launched the “Knock Knock” campaign in 2022 in response to concerns over victims of domestic violence or child abuse being unable to verbally report crimes to the police, The Korea Times reported.

Domestic violence reports in South Korea saw a decline during the pandemic, likely because increased time spent at home meant that victims were often in the same space as their abuser and could not call for help out loud.

Data from authorities shows a dip from 240,439 domestic violence reports in 2019 before the pandemic to 221,824 in 2020, and further down to 218,680 in 2021.

Since the launch of the “Knock Knock” campaign, emergency responders have been trained to prompt non-verbal cues as Kim did.

Instead of speaking, victims can tap twice on the handset to request police intervention.

After confirming that the caller is in danger, police will send a text message with a hyperlink that can trace the caller’s location and allow them to chat and stream live videos from their phones.

One in three South Korean women have experienced physical or sexual violence at least once during their lifetime, according to a government survey released on Thursday.

Of the 7,027 respondents, nearly 20 per cent had been assaulted by their intimate partners or ex-lovers, the survey showed.

The country’s domestic abuse reports stood at 236,647 in 2024, according to The Korea Herald, citing government data, with several particularly violent cases making headlines.

In November, a man in his fifties reportedly murdered his girlfriend in a motel room over an argument that broke out after he thought she was looking down on him.

A few months earlier in May, a college student stabbed his girlfriend to death on the rooftop of a building in Seoul, allegedly for breaking up with him.