Daejeon: The interior ministry announced on Sunday the gradual resumption of operations for its administrative computer network following a fire caused by a battery explosion. The incident significantly disrupted the system, with full restoration expected to take approximately two weeks.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the fire erupted at the National Information Resources Service in Daejeon when a lithium-ion battery exploded in a computer room on the fifth floor last Friday. As of 7 a.m., the government reported that over 50 percent of the network devices at the center had been restored, with 99 percent of the 767 key security-related devices functioning again.
The ministry revealed plans to gradually operate 551 computer systems that were not directly impacted by the fire, assessing whether the online services are functioning normally. Out of the total 647 government network systems at the center, 96 were presumed damaged, including crucial services like the mobile identification system and online postal service.
An interior ministry official highlighted that the pangovernment intranet, known as the Onnara System, currently offers limited services with essential features remaining offline. The damaged systems are set to be relocated to the agency's branch in Daegu, a process anticipated to take about two weeks for full recovery.
Meanwhile, the finance ministry reported that its major platforms, such as the state financial information network and the government subsidies portal, are back in operation. Of the affected services, 436 cater to public programs while 211 are intranet systems for government officials.
Kim Kwang-yong, chief of the Disaster Safety Management Headquarters, stated, "The government is making efforts to swiftly restore the administrative system. We will disclose the progress in the recovery work and the cause of the fire in a transparent manner." Authorities plan to conduct on-site inspections to determine the fire's cause, which occurred during the disconnection of uninterruptible power supply batteries from servers. The fire was fully extinguished by 6 p.m. Saturday, 22 hours after it began.