Hundreds of South Korean public services remained offline on Monday after a fire at the National Information Resources Service (NIRS) data centre in Daejeon crippled government websites, mobile ID functions and online portals, exposing critical vulnerabilities in the country’s digital infrastructure.
The blaze began at about 8:20 p.m. on Friday when a lithium-ion uninterruptible power supply battery, manufactured by LG Energy Solution, exploded during relocation work. The resulting thermal runaway sent extreme heat through the server room and made it unsafe for firefighters to use direct suppression tactics.
Emergency crews—approximately 170 personnel supported by more than 60 fire trucks—battled the fire through the night. Officials declared the main blaze largely extinguished by 6:30 a.m. on Saturday, though flare-ups later forced continued ventilation and careful use of carbon dioxide suppression systems.
As a precaution, authorities shut down over 600 servers, suspending 647 government systems—nearly one-third of the nation’s online administrative platforms. Key services affected include the mobile identification system, postal and financial operations at Korea Post, the national legal database and the central complaints and petitions portal.
Prime Minister Kim Min-seok apologised for the widespread disruption and ordered the relocation of damaged infrastructure units, an extension of tax payment deadlines and the prioritisation of services tied to daily life and economic activity. Interior Minister Yun Ho-jung raised the crisis management level to “serious” and mobilised all available resources for rapid restoration.
The outage left travellers unable to verify their identity at airport and subway kiosks, patients stranded at hospital check-ins and businesses unable to complete mobile banking transactions—challenges compounded by the upcoming Chuseok holiday and underscoring the risks of centralised digital infrastructure.
Officials have not provided a full timeline for complete recovery but say stabilising cooling and humidity controls is the immediate priority before gradually bringing servers back online.
