[Weekly Photo] Daily Life Stop Kakao Incident, The Future Is More Problematic

Pangyo Data Center Fire... Server Stop
KaTalk-Linked Sites Also 'All Stop'

Many users are experiencing inconvenience as multiple services from Kakao's affiliates, including the messenger application KakaoTalk, KakaoPay, and KakaoNavi, have encountered disruptions due to a fire at the Pangyo data center on the 15th. The photo shows an error message from KakaoTalk. Photo by Yonhap News.

Last week felt like a nightmare due to the Kakao service outage caused by a fire at the SK C&C data center in Pangyo, Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province on the 15th. Namgoong Hoon, co-CEO of Kakao, stepped down four days after the incident on the 19th, taking responsibility for the outage.

He said, "As the CEO responsible for the business, I focused on sales and operating profit," adding, "Systems are like water or air; you don't realize their importance until they disappear. I reflect that in running an IT company, systems are a very important element that require more attention and investment."

The longest service outage in the history of Kakao, South Korea's largest platform company, halted not only KakaoTalk but also all related services such as Kakao Taxi, Kakao Pay, and Kakao Commerce. From small business owners who suffered operational setbacks to citizens stranded due to messenger outages, cries of "daily life has stopped" erupted everywhere. Many citizens realized just how dependent they are on Kakao in their daily lives, highlighting the risks of a 'Kakao-dependent society.'

In particular, the KakaoTalk outage had significant impacts on various aspects of citizens' lives. Gifticons received via KakaoTalk could not be used, and QR code services linked to KakaoTalk accounts also faced disruptions.

Self-employed individuals across various industries reported damages. More than 31 sectors, including wholesale and retail, internet shopping, cafes, and overseas direct purchase agencies, claimed to have suffered losses due to the Kakao incident.

Weekly Photo captured the week from the occurrence of the worst Kakao blackout to CEO Namgoong's resignation in photos.

On the afternoon of the 15th, firefighters are conducting extinguishing operations at Building A of the SK Pangyo Campus in Sampyeong-dong, Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi Province, where a fire broke out.
The building on fire is a business facility where Naver, Kakao, and SK Telecom manage data. Due to this fire, communication disruptions are currently occurring in KakaoTalk, Kakao Taxi, and the portal site Daum. / Yonhap News

On the afternoon of the 15th, firefighters are conducting extinguishing operations at Building A of the SK Pangyo Campus in Sampyeong-dong, Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi Province, where a fire broke out. The building on fire is a business facility where Naver, Kakao, and SK Telecom manage data. Due to this fire, communication disruptions are currently occurring in KakaoTalk, Kakao Taxi, and the portal site Daum. / Yonhap News

On the 16th, police and fire authorities conducted the first inspection at the scene of the fire at the Pangyo SK C&C Data Center. The battery in the electrical room on the third basement level, the ignition point, was burned in the fire. / Yonhap News

On the 16th, fire investigation officials from Gyeonggi Fire Department entered Building A of the SK C&C Pangyo Campus in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, where a fire had occurred. The fire broke out at the SK C&C data center around 3:30 PM the previous day, causing services of server tenants such as Kakao and Naver to go down one after another. In particular, Kakao services including KakaoTalk messenger, portal Daum, KakaoT, KakaoPage, and KakaoPay experienced widespread outages, resulting in a nationwide "blackout situation" lasting over 10 hours. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

On the 18th, union members belonging to the National Democratic Taxi Union held an emergency press conference for corporate taxi workers regarding the 'KakaoT service disruption damage' and the government's late-night ride difficulty relief measures at the Service Federation conference room in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

An announcement indicating a system error is posted on an unmanned payment machine at a KakaoT parking lot in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, on the afternoon of the 16th, as the simultaneous disruptions that began on the afternoon of the 15th on KakaoTalk and other services continue to cause inconvenience. / Yonhap News

On the afternoon of the 16th, Kakao T Bikes were parked near Geomam Station in Seo-gu, Incheon, as Kakao's services experienced disruptions due to a fire at the SK Pangyo Campus, where data management facilities including Kakao are located. Photo by Yonhap News

Over the past weekend, due to a fire at the SK C&C data center, major Kakao services including KakaoTalk were suspended. On the 17th, recovery work is underway at the SK C&C data center in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province.
Seongnam=Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

Kakao, which experienced disruptions due to a data center fire, announced on the 16th that it has formed an emergency response committee chaired by Hong Eun-taek, Co-Head of Kakao Community Alignment and Co-CEO of Kakao. This committee replaces the response control tower that had been operating since immediately after the fire, composed of management and heads of each division. The photo shows Kakao Pangyo Ajit in Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, on the morning of the 17th. Photo by Yonhap News.

Namgoong Hoon (left) and Hong Eun-taek, co-CEOs of Kakao, are offering a public apology on the 19th at Kakao Pangyo Ajit in Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi Province, regarding the large-scale outage caused by a data center fire. Photo by Yonhap News

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.