Government systems and public services offline following South Korea data centre fire
Fire causes national service outages across South Korea
A fire at South Korea’s National Information Resources Service (NIRS) in Daejeon has caused major disruptions across hundreds of government services.
The blaze began late on Friday during maintenance in a server room at the state-run data centre, according to Reuters.
Officials said the incident affected 647 administrative systems, including those of the police, customs authorities and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.
By Monday, the government said that only 62 systems had been restored – less than 10% of those affected.
Safety Minister Yun Ho-jung said some services, including Government24 and Korea Post’s financial platforms, had returned online.
He stated that services were “restoring every hour” but warned that the full recovery could take weeks.
President Lee Jae Myung issued a public apology, acknowledging the lack of adequate backup systems after similar disruptions in 2023.
Investigators suspect LG battery caused blaze
Authorities believe the fire started after a lithium battery made by LG Energy Solution exploded during maintenance.
Reuters reported that the batteries had been in use for more than a decade and their warranty expired in 2024.
The Ministry of the Interior and Safety said LG CNS, an affiliate of LG Energy Solution, had advised the government to replace the units during a routine inspection in June 2024.
Hundreds of servers were damaged when the fire spread through the battery storage area.
LG Energy Solution declined to comment while the investigation is ongoing.
Public services hit ahead of national holiday
The Korea Herald reported that the fire caused extensive disruption to online platforms and daily services, including postal, financial and transport systems.
Korea Post’s network, which handles both parcel deliveries and banking, was paralysed.
Users reported delays to deliveries ahead of the Chuseok holiday, with postal volumes expected to reach 1.6 million parcels per day.
Mobile ID systems also went offline, preventing passengers from boarding domestic flights and patients from checking in at hospitals.
The Korea Airports Corporation urged travellers to carry physical identification while systems remained unavailable.
Prime Minister Kim Min-seok asked officials to prioritise restoring Korea Post’s financial and delivery services.
He also requested that the Government24 portal, which processes more than 870 public documents, be brought back online as a matter of urgency.
Experts highlight need for contingency systems
Technology experts criticised the lack of real-time recovery systems for critical national services.
Lee Seong-yeob, from Korea University’s Graduate School of Management of Technology, said: “Such disruptions should never occur at a national agency, and real-time synchronisation and recovery systems need to be implemented as soon as possible.”
He added: “The government should have recognised the need for a higher level of contingency planning, but it seems they were complacent.”
President Lee has ordered ministers to propose new budgets to strengthen system security and prevent similar incidents.
Relevance for fire and safety professionals
The incident highlights the vulnerability of high-density data storage facilities to electrical and battery-related fires.
Fire and rescue professionals may review protocols for lithium battery management, including maintenance, inspection and replacement intervals for large-scale installations.
Facility managers and electrical engineers may focus on emergency shutdown procedures and fire protection measures within server environments.
For risk assessors and system installers, the case provides a reference for evaluating redundancy in backup systems and the integration of fire suppression technologies in mission-critical sites.
The event also illustrates the need for coordination between safety authorities and digital infrastructure operators when restoring essential services after a major fire.
Data centre fire: Summary
A fire at South Korea’s National Information Resources Service in Daejeon disrupted 647 government systems, including police, customs and postal services.
Authorities restored 62 systems by Monday, representing less than 10% of affected platforms, while recovery continues.
Investigators suspect a battery manufactured by LG Energy Solution caused the blaze, which destroyed hundreds of servers during maintenance.
Korea Post’s delivery and banking networks, airport identification systems and online public portals were among the disrupted services.
President Lee Jae Myung apologised for the failure of backup systems and ordered ministers to develop stronger digital contingency plans.
Experts from Korea University said the government must implement real-time synchronisation and recovery systems to prevent future outages.
This article contains information from the following sources: Reuters, The Korea Herald