SAFETY APPLICATION

[Anchor Lead]

On today's local news, we take you to Gyeongsangnam-do Province where Jiri-san Mountain, a popular destination for climbers is located. A smartphone app has been developed to ensure the safety of those who climb the mountain known for its perilous and treacherous trails. Here is more.

[Pkg]

Park Chan-ho climbs Jiri-san Mountain once a month. He first turns on a smartphone app before embarking on the journey. Whenever he passes major points of the mountain, the app records where he is and sends text messages to his family.

[Soundbite] "(Have you just passed Kal Bawi?) Right. How do you know?"

His locations are recorded in real time, from the mountain's entrance to the peak. The system helps ensure safety, even in emergencies.

[Soundbite] PARK CHAN-HO(CLIMBER) : "I like this app because it can show my location when I have an emergency. My family feels relieved now."

Jiri-san Mountain is the nation's first national park to develop an app, which detects the locations of hikers at 62 key sites, such as crossroads, shelters and peaks. The app was developed as Jiri-san Mountain is known for risky and treacherous trails and many climbers scale the mountain for days. In 2014, a mountaineer was rescued three days after he lost his way during nighttime hiking.
The new app should be able to help expedite such operations.

[Soundbite] LEE SEUNG-JUN(JIRI-SAN NAT'L PARK) : "This app will help us dispatch rescuers to save climbers in emergencies using the latest information on their whereabouts. We can also identify hiking patterns every year."

The Jiri-san National Park will fully provide the location alert service starting in July after conducting a test run at some routes.