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CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.

81 online public services restored after outage caused by national data center fire

A total of 81 online public services, including a major government portal and the banking arm of the national postal service, were restored Monday following an outage caused by a fire at the state data management agency. As of 10 p.m., 12.5 percent of the 647 public administration systems that were suspended in the wake of Friday's fire at the National Information Resources Service (NIRS) in Daejeon, about 140 kilometers south of Seoul, were back online, according to the government. Restored services included GOV.KR, a major government portal for civil application services, the interior ministry's mobile identification system, the Office for Government Policy Coordination's state management system and the science ministry's internal portal for postal logistics. The government has said it is prioritizing the restoration of services directly affecting people's safety and economic activities, but the slow normalization process is expected to delay many administrative procedures as local government offices reopened after the weekend. "I deeply apologize for causing great inconvenience to the

Sep 29, 2025By Yonhap
81 online public services restored after outage caused by national data center fire

Korea Post's mailing service partially restored following data center fire

Korea's postal operator said Monday it has partially restored mailing services that were suspended following last week's fire at a major government data center. Korea Post said mail and package shipping, both domestic and international, along with tracking services, will become available at 9:00 a.m. to minimize inconvenience for the public ahead of the extended Chuseok holiday that begins Friday. Several services, including shipments of fresh goods and non-document express mail to the United States, however, will remain suspended. The fire broke out at the National Information Resources Service in the central city of Daejeon on Friday after a lithium-ion battery exploded in a computer room, crippling major government services over the weekend. "We will make efforts to normalize mailing services at an early date so that all deliveries, including packages, can be shipped normally ahead of the Chuseok holiday," Korea Post said in a release. Korea Post resumed financial services, including debit card transactions, online banking and ATM services, on Sunday.

Sep 29, 2025By Yonhap
Korea Post's mailing service partially restored following data center fire

Retailers, hotels gear up for influx of Chinese tourists under new visa exemption rule

Starting Monday, Chinese tour groups are allowed to enter Korea without a visa, a move fueling hopes of higher spending in the tourism and retail sectors, while also raising concerns about tourist safety amid rising anti-China sentiment in the country. The government said earlier this month that Chinese tour groups of three or more will be allowed to enter Korea without a visa for up to 15 days. The program will run from Sept. 29 through June 30 next year, and is open to groups recruited by government-designated domestic and overseas travel agencies. Jeju Island will continue its existing visa-free policy, which allows both individual and group travelers to stay for up to 30 days. The decision came last November, after China announced a visa-free policy allowing Korean nationals to visit for up to 15 days for business, tourism, family visits and transit through the end of this year. Until now, Chinese tourists visiting Korea generally had to apply for a visa at Korean embassies, consulates or designated visa centers in China, typically submitting documents such as round-trip tickets and

Sep 29, 2025By Park Ung
Retailers, hotels gear up for influx of Chinese tourists under new visa exemption rule

Seoul suspends Hangang Bus service amid safety concerns, public criticism

Starting Monday, Seoul will suspend passenger service on the Hangang Bus for approximately a month, following mounting public criticism over its slow speed and recurring mechanical failures. The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Sunday that the Hangang Bus experienced minor technical and electrical glitches early in its operation. Although immediate fixes were made, the city said it will suspend service to ensure stable operations and passenger safety. While service is suspended, the test operation will run without passengers on the same schedule as a regular service. The city will use data collected from each vessel during the trial to improve service quality and strengthen contingency plans for various scenarios and weather conditions. The Hangang Bus, which made its inaugural run 10 days ago, is facing criticism over its effectiveness and reports of mechanical issues. The travel time for the Magok–Jamsil regular route has risen to 127 minutes from the originally announced 75, while the express route now takes 82 minutes instead of 54. With additional time needed to get to and from t

Sep 28, 2025By Park Ung
Seoul suspends Hangang Bus service amid safety concerns, public criticism

Right-wing civic groups hold anti-China rally in Seoul

Protesters from ultra-right civic groups held an anti-China rally Sunday, chanting slogans calling for the release of now-jailed former President Yoon Suk Yeol over his martial law bid. At 2:30 p.m., demonstrators from several conservative groups gathered at the square in front of Seoul Station in central Seoul and marched toward Namdaemun, which means "south gate." Holding the national flags of Korea and the United States, around 150 participants chanted slogans such as "(former) President Yoon Suk Yeol," "nullify the rigged election" and "arrest (President) Lee Jae Myung." Some protesters held a message that calls for destroying China's Communist Party and were seen wearing T-shirts that carry phrases commemorating the assassination of U.S. conservative activist Charlie Kirk. During the march, there were no reports of physical clashes with police. Earlier this month, President Lee criticized the anti-China rallies as being "rife with profanity and hateful remarks that went beyond freedom of expression." Lee said such rallies do not align with Korea's global status as "a model nation for

Sep 28, 2025By Yonhap
Right-wing civic groups hold anti-China rally in Seoul

Citizens brace for prolonged disruptions after blaze knocks out gov't data center

Hundreds of government and financial services across Korea remain offline after a fire at a key national data center, disrupting citizens’ daily routines and prompting President Lee Jae Myung to order ministries to speed up recovery efforts. Officials warned it could take up to two weeks before operations return to normal, affecting everything from housing applications to moving contracts. One citizen wrote online, “I have to submit documents by Monday, but with the system down I’m really worried." Another complained, "I tried to get a resident registration copy needed for a moving contract, but Government24 was down, so I had no choice but to postpone the contract." Government24 is Korea's centralized online portal operated by the interior ministry, a core platform in the country’s e-government system. The blaze broke out Friday evening at the National Information Resources Service (NIRS) headquarters in Daejeon, the “nerve center” of Korea’s digital infrastructure. Officials said sparks from a lithium-ion battery ignited the fire while 13 workers were carrying out replac

Sep 28, 2025By Kim Hyun-bin
Citizens brace for prolonged disruptions after blaze knocks out gov't data center

K-water forges stronger partnership with envoys from 5 Mekong nations

Korea Water Resources Corp. CEO Yun Seog-dae met Friday with ambassadors from five Mekong River-adjacent countries — Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia and Thailand — in Seoul to discuss closer cooperation on sustainable water management as climate challenges intensify. The meeting, hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Environment, reviewed past cooperation and mapped out plans to expand future collaboration. The Mekong River basin, which stretches more than 4,300 kilometers across Southeast Asia and is home to about 250 million people, is increasingly threatened by floods, droughts and pollution fueled by climate change and industrialization. In a joint statement at the Korea-Vietnam summit in Seoul in August, the two nations reaffirmed their commitment to addressing water issues in the basin, and Friday’s meeting sought to turn that pledge into concrete action. The corporation set up the Korea-Mekong Water Center in 2021 to build a cooperative framework for the region. Created under the Mekong-Han River Declaration adopted at the first summit in 2019, the c

Sep 28, 2025By Park Ung
K-water forges stronger partnership with envoys from 5 Mekong nations

Suicide deaths exceed 7,000 in H1

More than 7,000 people died by suicide in Korea in the first half of this year, according to government data Sunday. A total of 7,067 people took their lives between January and June, slightly down from the 7,844 in the same period last year but similar to the 7,142 in the first half of 2023, showed data from Statistics Korea. By age group, people in their 50s accounted for the largest share at 22.4 percent, followed by those in their 40s (19 percent), 60s (15.1 percent), 30s (13.5 percent) and 70s (9.8 percent), with other age groups making up the remainder. Experts say suicide should not be viewed only as an individual issue but also as a broader social and structural problem requiring public health interventions. In a recent article in the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs' (KIHASA) International Social Security Review, Choi Min-jae, a researcher at the Korea University Graduate School of Public Health, said the government should move beyond targeted interventions for high-risk groups to include "selective and universal" measures addressing risks across the general populat

Sep 28, 2025By Yonhap
Suicide deaths exceed 7,000 in H1

Gov't begins gradually resuming operations of state computer network following fire at data center

The interior ministry said Sunday it has begun gradually resuming operations of the administrative computer network at the state data center in the central city of Daejeon after a fire caused by a battery explosion crippled the system. The fire broke out at the National Information Resources Service in the central city of Daejeon on Friday after a lithium-ion battery exploded in a computer room on the fifth floor. As of 7 a.m., the government had restored more than 50 percent of network devices at the center, according to the ministry. Of the 767 key security-related devices, 99 percent had begun functioning again, it said. The ministry said it will gradually begin running 551 computer systems that were not directly affected by the fire in a bid to review whether the online service is operating normally. Of the total 647 government network systems at the center, 96 were presumed to be damaged by the recent blaze, including the mobile identification system and online postal service. Of the affected services, 436 are public programs and 211 are intranet systems for government officials. "The

Sep 28, 2025By Yonhap
Gov't begins gradually resuming operations of state computer network following fire at data center

Fireworks light up Seoul as 1 mil. gather at Han River

An annual international fireworks festival lit up the skies over Seoul on Saturday, drawing about 1 million spectators amid heavy traffic controls and public safety measures. Held under the theme "Light Up Together," the Seoul International Fireworks Festival showcased performances by teams from Korea, Italy and Canada at Han River Park in Yeouido, according to organizer Hanwha Group. Italy's Fiat Lux and Canada's Super-Heros opened the show, followed by the Korean team, which launched hundreds of fireworks synchronized with "Golden," a soundtrack from the global hit animation "KPop Demon Hunters." To manage the massive crowd, Seoul police deployed some 3,400 officers around the venue and used aerial monitoring equipment near Yeouinaru Station to track congestion. Trains on Subway Line 5 skipped Yeouinaru Station for about three hours during the event.

Sep 27, 2025By Yonhap
Fireworks light up Seoul as 1 mil. gather at Han River
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