National Healthcare services Disrupted Following Data Center Fire
A fire at the National Information Resources service has caused widespread disruption to government and healthcare systems across the nation, resulting in a near-total shutdown of the national computer network for several hours. The incident has impacted services provided by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the National Health Insurance Corporation (NHIS).
The fire led to the suspension of most administrative information systems, with the NHIS experiencing significant service interruptions. Specifically, access to resident registration changes via the ‘Administrative Information Joint Use’ system – a crucial link between various institutions – is currently unavailable, impacting several key services.
Pregnant women seeking to apply for pregnancy and childbirth medical expense support or inquire about related subsidies are currently facing difficulties. While existing beneficiaries can check their balances through their card providers, new applications will be processed retroactively once the korea Social Security Information Service system is restored.
Issuing health insurance certificates through government-linked platforms like Government24 and unmanned civil complaint kiosks is also temporarily unavailable.However, the NHIS is offering option certificate issuance methods through its website, the ‘the Health Insurance’ mobile app, fax, and in-person visits to branch offices.
Furthermore, users attempting to log into health Service using GPKI-issued personal certificates are currently unable to do so. The NHIS recommends utilizing simpler authentication methods, such as civil certificates, as a temporary workaround.
The NHIS is actively implementing measures to minimize public inconvenience, including manual processing, deadline extensions, and retroactive request of benefits. Updates on the recovery process and service resumption will be posted on the NHIS website.
“We are working closely with relevant government departments to mitigate the impact of this system failure on citizens,” stated Chung Ki-sun, Chairman of the NHIS.”We appreciate the public’s understanding and cooperation during this challenging time.”
As of today, 647 government systems were initially affected by the fire. The Ministry of Health and Welfare experienced disruptions to services including medical record transmission, healthcare big data systems, and the ’Welfare’ portal. The healthcare big data system was successfully restored by midnight on October 28th. The Centers for disease Control and Prevention also reported issues with several monitoring systems, including the Integrated Health Management System and the Integrated Information System.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare has activated a crisis alert at the ‘boundary’ level and is prioritizing the restoration of affected systems.
