National Information Resources Service Fire ... Gyeongnam Province "Minimizing Inconvenience for Residents"

On September 26, following a fire at the National Information Resources Service in Daejeon that caused outages in some administrative systems such as Government24 and the Social Security Information System, Gyeongnam Province has been working to minimize inconvenience for residents by responding to the service disruptions.

According to Gyeongnam Province, its official website is operated through the NHN Public Cloud Zone, so it was not directly affected by the fire.

However, nationwide public services such as Post Office financial and postal services, Government24, the People’s Petition Portal, and mobile identification, as well as internal administrative services like integrated email for public officials, Onnara email and video conferencing, and the Government Public Key Infrastructure (GPKI), experienced access interruptions but are gradually being restored.

Gyeongnam Provincial Government Office. Photo by Lee Seryeong

Regarding reports that the fire at the National Information Resources Service was caused by the ignition of a lithium-ion battery inside an uninterruptible power supply (UPS), Gyeongnam Province explained that the UPS at the provincial government office uses lead-acid batteries, which are less likely to ignite and are considered stable.

Additionally, the integrated data center is separated from the UPS room, further ensuring safety.

Gyeongnam Province has requested all 18 cities and counties to conduct self-inspections and submit information on their information systems and UPS status. For locations deemed to require on-site verification, joint inspections will be conducted through direct visits.

The province has posted notices on its official and municipal websites, as well as on its social media channels, regarding the Government24 service outage and alternative measures following the fire at the National Information Resources Service.

For resident-related services, the comprehensive welfare portal “Bokjiro” and the social security information system “Haengbogieum” have provided guidance through their websites, allowing residents to submit handwritten applications by jurisdiction.

The online cremation reservation system “e-Haneul Funeral System” is operating normally by processing handwritten applications by city and county, and for the “119 Emergency Smart System,” which triggers emergency lights in hospital ERs when a patient arrives, paramedics are confirming hospital transfer availability by phone.

On September 28, Gyeongnam Province held a meeting of department and bureau heads in the morning and a meeting of deputy heads of cities and counties in the afternoon, both chaired by the Vice Governor for Administrative Affairs, to review detailed damage reports and response measures.

Additionally, the province plans to strengthen monitoring of major information systems and actively provide information on alternative measures to further minimize inconvenience to residents.

A provincial official stated, “We are currently working with central government agencies and local governments to assess the damage,” and added, “We will identify the suspended services and promptly inform residents of alternative options to minimize inconvenience.”

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