A fire at South Korea’s National Information Resources Service (NIRS) data centre in Daejeon has left hundreds of government services offline, highlighting major gaps in the country’s digital backup systems.

Investigators suspect an expired LG Energy battery triggered the blaze, raising fresh concerns about infrastructure resilience in one of the world’s most wired nations.

The fire, which broke out during routine maintenance on Friday, disrupted around 647 government services, including those run by Korea Customs, the National Police Agency, and the National Fire Agency.

By Monday, authorities confirmed only 62 systems had been restored, with many key websites, including the safety ministry’s portal, still inaccessible.

“We see services restoring every hour,” Safety Minister Yun Ho-jung told reporters, citing the partial recovery of Government24, the country’s main online portal for public services, along with financial and postal systems run by Korea Post.

President Lee issues apology

President Lee Jae Myung apologized for the widespread disruption, admitting that the government lacked proper contingency planning despite similar outages in 2023.

“It is surprising the government had no better backup,” Lee said, ordering ministers to propose emergency budgets for stronger cybersecurity and data recovery systems.

Experts warn of systemic failures

Digital infrastructure specialists criticized the government’s lack of real-time synchronization and recovery systems, warning that such outages should not occur at a national-level agency.

“Such disruptions should never occur at a national agency,” said Lee Seong-yeob, professor at Korea University. “The government seems complacent, despite repeated warnings from past incidents.”

The fire has reignited memories of a 2022 data centre blaze that crippled apps and services, including Kakao messenger and online payment systems.

Investigators believe the fire started when a battery produced by LG Energy Solution exploded during maintenance. The batteries, maintained by LG affiliate LG CNS, had been in use for more than a decade and their warranty expired in 2024.

The safety ministry said LG CNS had already recommended replacement during a routine check last year, but the batteries were kept in service. LG Energy Solution declined to comment, citing the ongoing investigation.