'Bokjiro' System Under Inspection After Restoration... Welfare Voucher Payments to Be Delayed for a Considerable Period

Ministry of Health and Welfare:
"Complete Destruction of Social Service Electronic Voucher and Funeral Information Systems"

The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced that it is currently conducting internal inspections of the Social Security Information System (Haengbok-eum) and Bokjiro, which had been suspended due to the fire at the National Information Resources Service (NIRS), prior to their reopening after restoration. However, it is expected that normal service for the Social Service Electronic Voucher System and the e-Haneul Funeral Information System will be difficult for a considerable period, as the servers for these systems were completely destroyed by the fire.

On the morning of September 29, the Ministry of Health and Welfare held a situation assessment meeting presided over by Minister Chung Eun-kyung to review the recovery status of the health and welfare administrative information systems.

According to the ministry, among the systems that were suspended due to the fire, the Healthcare Big Data System, Senior Customized Care System, Vulnerable Senior Support System, and the Korea Social Welfare Credit Union website have been operating normally since the afternoon of the previous day (September 28).

The core welfare systems-Haengbok-eum, Heemang-eum, and Bokjiro-are undergoing internal inspections prior to reopening after restoration, and the recovery of the Ministry of Health and Welfare website and others is being carried out in order of priority.

Haengbok-eum and Heemang-eum are social security information systems used by local government and social welfare facility workers, while Bokjiro is a public welfare portal. Through Bokjiro, citizens can apply for various welfare services and obtain beneficiary certificates. Due to the suspension of services following the fire, citizens are currently being instructed to visit community centers to submit applications in person.

The ministry announced that it is providing service suspension notices on websites where recovery is delayed. For systems such as the Social Service Electronic Voucher System and the e-Haneul Funeral Information System, where normal service is expected to be difficult for a considerable period due to complete destruction, the ministry has thoroughly discussed measures to ensure business continuity, including the establishment of alternative administrative procedures.

In addition, taking into account the characteristics and procedures of each public service, the ministry has established and reviewed various measures, including: manual processing procedures such as in-person or phone applications at local governments and facilities; providing services first and settling accounts later; and manually preparing and storing documents for later processing. Furthermore, the ministry plans to actively inform the public and cooperate with related agencies to ensure these measures work effectively in the field.

A ministry official stated, "We will do our utmost to promptly restore the systems, faithfully implement the business continuity plan, and minimize inconvenience to the public."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.