Malfunction of KORAIL's ticket reservation app, website causes inconvenience ahead of Chuseok holiday

This captured image shows KORAIL's ticket reservation website, Wednesday. Yonhap

The mobile application and website for ticket reservations of the state-run railroad operator became unavailable for technical reasons Wednesday, causing inconvenience for customers, ahead of the upcoming Chuseok holiday.

Online reservations for next month's holiday began at 7 a.m., but users were unable to access the reservation system for over two hours, according to Korea Railroad Corp. (KORAIL).

A KORAIL official said the system appeared to be malfunctioning from overloaded traffic due to the relatively longer Chuseok holiday period this year.

"Emergency measures have been taken, and the system is being normalized in phases," KORAIL said. "(We) deeply apologize to those who experienced delays, and will inspect and improve the system so that it does not experience the same problem."

Chuseok, which falls on Oct. 6 this year, is the autumn harvest celebration, during which people head to their hometowns to get together with family members and relatives, and visit their ancestors' graves.

This year's holiday period is longer than usual as it falls between two national holidays — Hangeul Day on Oct. 3, which celebrates the Korean alphabet, and National Foundation Day on Oct. 9.