Breaking Shinhan Savings Bank's Computer System Malfunction of Unknown Cause; Partial Recovery but Still Unstable

Shinhan Savings Bank's computer system suffered a malfunction of unknown cause on the 2nd afternoon and was partially recovered in about an hour. However, as of 4 p.m., services remain unstable. According to this outlet's reporting, internet banking login began failing around 2:55 p.m. that afternoon (with the possibility of earlier disruptions), and from 3:04 p.m., a notice stating "Service Suspended due to System Work" appeared on the login screen. Although login subsequently resumed, errors continued until near 4 p.m., with messages such as "An undefined error occurred while creating resources" (JEXR3000004) appearing on internet banking, preventing full normalization. The cause of the malfunction has not yet been identified.

The disruption extended beyond external services. A spokesperson from a Shinhan Savings Bank branch confirmed to this outlet that not only electronic financial services such as internet banking but also internal operational networks were halted. The suspension of internal networks appears to have caused disruptions to branch counter operations. With transfers and inquiries blocked during the afternoon hours when financial transactions typically surge on Monday, users experienced inconvenience.

The notice on the access screen was not an announced maintenance but rather was posted after the malfunction occurred. The service maintenance time listed on the screen is from midnight to 10 a.m. on the day, but this is understood to be a standard notice displayed when service is disrupted, regardless of actual circumstances. The timeline, in which login failure began first and the notice screen appeared about 9 minutes later, supports this. A dedicated call center number (1566-6000, 1644-6000) was provided for inquiries, but with inquiries flooding in, it became difficult to reach operators.

While the cause remains unknown, there are backgrounds drawing industry attention. It was previously reported that Shinhan Savings Bank announced in September that it would invest 350 billion won in a major replacement of its aging computer system for the first time in 16 years, with interest focused on whether this malfunction is related to the transition work. An official explanation from Shinhan Savings Bank Central Federation has not yet been released. Concerns about the outdated computer systems in the mutual finance sector were also raised both within and outside the industry last month.

Additional reporting is planned as soon as an official statement from Shinhan Savings Bank Central Federation on the cause of the malfunction and the time for complete normalization is released.