SEOUL, September 28 (AJP) - A massive data disruption following a fire at a central state data center has caused widespread inconvenience and paralysis for the public and essential government services across South Korea.
The network collapse has directly impacted citizens' daily lives, delaying the issuance of critical official documents, hindering financial transactions, and even affecting basic services like emergency rescue tracking and public transportation access.
The government has apologized for the significant trouble and is mobilizing resources to restore the crippled network.
The disruption began Friday evening when a lithium-ion battery exploded in a computer room at the National Information Resources Service in Daejeon, police and firefighters said.
"The fire led the government to preemptively shut down 647 online systems, including the mobile identification system," Vice Interior Minister Kim Min-jae told reporters.
Of these, 436 are public-facing programs, while 211 are intranet systems for government officials, paralyzing nearly one-third of the government's total online information systems. The blaze was finally extinguished some 22 hours later on Saturday.
The focus is now on repairing the affected network equipment by Sunday to normalize key services first, particularly critical ones like postal and financial services.
Vice Interior Minister Kim xplained that the operations were suspended as a "preemptive" measure after the fire caused malfunctions in the temperature and humidity control equipment, which could lead to server overheating. He confirmed that the government plans to bring servers back online once these control systems are repaired.
Authorities, including the police and fire departments, are currently investigating the exact cause of the fire and the full extent of the damage.
Industry sources suggest the possibility of data loss is slim due to the NIRS data center having a four-stage backup and disaster recovery system in operation. Prime Minister Kim Min-seok also issued an apology, assuring the public that the government would work swiftly to restore all affected services.
Public Service Paralysis
The failure of the administrative computer network has been felt acutely by the public.
Citizens reported difficulties with essential services, with one 53-year-old, surnamed Lee, finding his debit card issued by Korea Post failed when attempting to make a payment. Others noted that the money transfer service on Korea Post financial accounts was completely unavailable.
Crucial government functions were also compromised.
The disruption paralyzed the location-tracking function of the 119 emergency rescue service and the online official document issuance service, which citizens rely on for certificates.
Furthermore, some transportation services were affected; people with discounted tickets for buses, trains, and airplanes were forced to carry their physical identification cards, as the online systems were inoperable.
"We apologize for causing great inconvenience to the public by delaying civil applications and the issuance of certificates," Interior Minister Yun Ho-jung said.
To mitigate the impact, the government announced it would postpone impending tax payment deadlines and official document submissions until the state services are restored. Citizens were also advised to visit government offices in person or use alternative websites for official services in the meantime.
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