The following is a summary of the latest reports across the country on how the transition has gone. The Year 2000 problem is the potential for computers that use two-digit dating to malfunction as the date rolls over to 2000 from 1999.
Computers using both the Korean language and English language version of Microsoft's Windows operating system on computers using Intel's processors functioned normally.
Banking:
The central bank said it hasn't seen any Y2K-related problems, though all of its systems are shut down.
Banks are shut from Dec. 31 through Jan. 3, two days longer than the typical year-end holiday. During the period, automated teller machines are out of operation, the first ever-closure since cash machines were introduced in the country.
The central bank said Korean banks have spent almost three years and 130 billion won ($109.3 million) up to June this year to correct the problem. Spending on Y2K by banks and other finance companies in Korea amounted to 389 billion won ($329 million) at the end of June.
Banks and ATMs will reopen Jan. 4.
Transportation:
"Up until now there are no problems related to Y2K and there is nothing out of the ordinary to report," said So Hyung Sok, a spokesman at Korea Air's public relations office.
The airline has had a special task force to oversee and counter any possible problems between 9 a.m., Dec. 31 and 12 p.m., Jan. 4.
Korean Air, the nation's largest carrier, decided to either cancel or re-schedule 49 international flights between Dec. 31 and Jan. 1 to avoid Y2K-related problems. The company said that it has canceled flights on routes that it believes are vulnerable to problems stemming from computer failures. Still, some of the cancellations were due to low reservation rates, KAL said.
Flights affected include planes with stops in or routes that traverse Eastern Europe, China, Mongolia, Russia and Latin America. Flights to North America and Australia were unaffected because those areas are relatively well prepared for Y2K, the company said.
KAL President Shim Yi-taek will board a flight from Seoul to Cheju Island off the south coast of Korea at 8:50 a.m., Jan. 1, to show the airline has no Y2K-related problems.
In Seoul, the subway, which normally closes at 11.30 p.m. was open on some lines until 2:30 a.m. to allow those who attended city center celebrations to return home.
"We are monitoring what's going on and haven't found anything wrong so far," said Kim Wang Soo, an official at Seoul Subway's central office
Electricity:
Korea Electric Power, the state run electricity generating monopoly, reported no problems at its power transmission and generation plants.
Kim Hak Song head of the company's Y2K team said that it has "discovered absolutely nothing amiss."
Kepco, as the company is known, has 6,000 workers working all night supervised by a nine-member management task force.
Communications:
Korea Telecom, the state-run telephone company that owns virtually all of Korea's fixed phone lines, reported that they have tried both domestic and local calls without discovering any problems.
"There are absolutely no problems," said Kwon Jung Jang, a spokesman for the company's Y2K task force team.
Similarly SK Telecom, the largest mobile phone service provider, which has more than 40 percent of Korea's 23 million subscribers, reported no problems with local or international calls.
Hospitals:
The Ministry of Health and Welfare, which is operating a 14-person task force coordinating more than 3,000 hospitals nationwide, estimates that 140,000 staff will be on duty at hospitals throughout the country.
Choi Young, an official at the task force, confirmed that the team was in touch with hospitals throughout the country, but that nothing "out of the ordinary" had been reported.
Government:
Lee Do Kyu, senior manager at the government's National Y2K task force, which is operating for 24 hours from Dec. 31 out of the Ministry of Information and Communication, said that no problems have been reported in connections with Y2K.
Fifty nine employees at the ministry will coordinate the government's supervision of any problems. They estimate that 380,000 civil servants nationwide will be on duty all night.
According to the Korean National Police Agency, some 120,000 police officers--93 percent of the total force--will be on duty all night.
Celebrations:
Celebrations in Sejong Street, Seoul's central avenue, focused on North Korea and the future.
Five minutes before midnight, politicians, children and military leaders cut a barbed wire fence that symbolized the demilitarized zone that has separated North from South since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. Then, as a rock band played, a fake steel curtain representing the national divide was burned away.
Koreans celebrations also focused heavily on the future, with several luminous clothed men descending from lines attached to a nearby skyscraper, symbolizing extraterrestrials visiting earth, announcers said. The centerpiece, a pendulum swinging behind a grandstand made up of hundreds of computer display screens, marked the end of the year.
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