Transportation Services Disrupted Due to NIRS Fire Affecting Buses, Railways, and Airlines

Due to a fire at the National Information Resources Service (NIRS), disruptions have occurred in the government’s computer network, resulting in delays in transportation services such as buses, railways, and airlines.

On the 27th, a system error message was displayed on an unmanned civil service issuance machine installed at a subway station in Seoul. 2025.9.27 Yonhap News

According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on the 27th, authentication for discount benefits for multi-child families, national merit recipients, and people with disabilities is not being processed smoothly for bus and railway tickets. Payments with post office check cards are also impossible due to the system outage. The Ministry has advised passengers to bring physical identification or other supporting documents when booking or purchasing discounted tickets, and to use payment methods other than post office check cards.

At airports, identity verification using government-issued mobile IDs is also currently unavailable when boarding aircraft. The Ministry announced that until the system is restored, the scope of acceptable identification will be temporarily expanded to include copies of IDs (including photos and faxes), alternative government websites (such as the Electronic Family Registration System, Traffic Civil Service 24, Saeumteo, Hometax, National Health Insurance, etc.), and private applications.

In relation to this, Korea Airports Corporation announced on its website for 14 airports nationwide on the same day, “Due to a fire at the National Information Resources Service, some government IT services are experiencing disruptions,” and added, “Since identity verification via mobile ID or Government24 may be difficult, please make sure to bring physical identification or use BioPass (biometric authentication) when using the airport.” For minors, it was advised to either bring a printed copy of the required documents or save the original files in advance.

Automatic discounts for vehicles of people with disabilities and national merit recipients at airport parking lots are also being affected. The corporation requested that vehicles eligible for discounts that entered after 8:20 a.m. on the day of the fire apply for a refund later according to separate instructions.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport stated, “The government will do its utmost to restore the system as quickly as possible in cooperation with relevant agencies and to minimize inconvenience to the public.”