Mobile nat'l ID card app restored after breakdown

An error message on the Korean government's mobile identification application / Yonhap

A mobile ID card application operated by the government was successfully restored after experiencing a service disruption that lasted for more than six hours Friday.

The disruption began at 1:54 p.m., rendering both the mobile identification card website and its accompanying app inaccessible. While the website resumed operations promptly, the app remained partially unavailable until 8:40 p.m.

The state-run Korea Minting and Security Printing Corp. in charge of managing the mobile identification card system, said an employee accidentally triggered the system, resulting in the freeze of operations. There was no evidence of any external attack.

The incident came after the government's administrative network underwent a major system failure on Nov. 17, disrupting public access to state-approved documents before being restored two days later.

South Korea has been providing the mobile identification service since July last year, with plans to expand the service to include mobile national ID cards with the same legal status as the current plastic ID cards in the second half of next year. (Yonhap)