Ulsan city government is revising duplicate and similar road facility names to prevent emergency responders from arriving at the wrong locations [1].

This initiative aims to protect the "golden time" during disasters, as identical naming conventions can lead to critical delays in police and medical dispatch. The move follows a catastrophic event in July 2023 where naming confusion contributed to a delayed response [1, 2].

During that 2023 incident, which occurred at the Gungpyeong 2 underground tunnel in O-sung-eup, Cheongju, Chungcheongbuk-do, police were dispatched to the wrong tunnel [2]. The flood in that tunnel resulted in 14 fatalities [1] and left 17 vehicles submerged [1].

Ulsan authorities are now identifying similar vulnerabilities within their own infrastructure. In the Cheokgwa-cheon area, officials found that three out of four bridges shared the same name, "Cheokgwa-gyo" [1]. This lack of distinction creates a high risk of misdirection during time-sensitive emergencies.

City officials said the standardization effort will clean up these naming overlaps to ensure that dispatchers and first responders have precise coordinates for every facility. By removing ambiguity from the road network, the city intends to eliminate the possibility of responders searching for the correct bridge or tunnel while victims wait for help [1, 2].

The effort focuses on bridges, tunnels, and other road-side facilities that may have been named generically over time. By assigning unique identifiers to each structure, Ulsan hopes to avoid the systemic failures that occurred during the Cheongju flood [2].

“Ulsan is cleaning up and standardising road facility names that are duplicated or similar”

The transition from generic to unique infrastructure naming represents a shift toward 'precision dispatching' in urban planning. When emergency services rely on digital maps and verbal reports, linguistic ambiguity—such as multiple bridges sharing a single name—becomes a physical hazard. Ulsan's policy change acknowledges that administrative naming conventions are not just clerical details but are critical components of public safety infrastructure.