Insurance purchases may be difficult during certain hours on January 14 and 18, the first and last days of the Lunar New Year holiday.
The Korea Credit Information Services (KCIS) announced on January 9 that it will conduct an information technology system upgrade for insurance credit information during certain hours on January 14 and 18. "Some insurance purchases may not proceed smoothly during the upgrade period," the agency said.
KCIS plans to carry out the system upgrade from midnight to 8 a.m. on January 14 and from midnight to 10 a.m. on January 18.
Private health insurance purchases may be affected during these hours, as queries on existing private health insurance coverage will be unavailable during the system upgrade. However, domestic and international travel insurance purchases will remain available during the upgrade period.
"If you need to purchase insurance in the early morning hours on the first or last day of the Lunar New Year holiday, we recommend doing so in advance," a KCIS official said. "Mandatory insurance such as auto insurance typically only needs to be purchased by midnight on the expiration date, so the impact from the system upgrade will be minimized."