[Exclusive] Government to Overhaul National Critical Infrastructure Management... Expansion to 'Semiconductors, AI' Possible

Ministry of the Interior and Safety Discusses Overhaul of National Core Infrastructure Designation and Management
Concerns Grow Over Public Impact from Disruptions at Non-Core Facilities
Plans to Add and Subdivide "Industry" Sector within Nation

The government is set to overhaul the management system for national critical infrastructure. This comes as incidents at private facilities, which are not categorized as national critical infrastructure, continue to impact not only public safety but also the national economy. There are discussions on designating value-added telecommunications services closely tied to daily life, such as Kakao, as well as the semiconductor industry, which is a national security asset, as national critical infrastructure.

According to government ministries on May 13, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety has recently launched a study to reorganize the designation and management system for national critical infrastructure.

National critical infrastructure refers to facilities, information systems, and assets that could have a significant impact on maintaining key functions of the nation’s economy, safety, administration, and health. By law, areas such as energy, information and communications, transportation, and healthcare are designated as such. Under the Enforcement Decree of the Framework Act on Disaster and Safety Management, designations are made with specific names, managing agencies, and reasons for designation. Dams, power plants, railways, and airports are examples of national critical infrastructure.

However, in recent years, large-scale disruptions have occurred at sites not designated as national critical infrastructure. The 2022 fire at the SK C&C Pangyo Data Center is a representative example. Due to this fire, Kakao services could not operate normally for more than five days. Even at the National Information Resources Service in Daejeon, which is designated as national critical infrastructure, a small spark was not contained, causing administrative systems nationwide to become paralyzed.

The purpose of reorganizing the designation and management system for national critical infrastructure is to strengthen protection measures for critical national facilities. The government plans to build a nationwide protection system by addressing shortcomings in the classification system and the lack of incident prevention measures.

The first step is to reassess the 368 facilities currently designated and managed across 11 sectors as national critical infrastructure. For instance, the government will review the appropriateness and relevance of the designation criteria in sectors like energy and information and communications. The classification system for national critical infrastructure will also be examined. Facilities that may need to be excluded from the list will also be reviewed.

In particular, the government is considering adding and segmenting the “industry” category within national critical infrastructure. This would involve adding specific industries to the current 11 sectors: energy, information and communications, transportation, finance, healthcare, nuclear, environment, potable water, key government facilities, joint-use tunnels, and cultural heritage sites.

With this discussion as a starting point, there is a possibility that, in the mid- to long-term, related private companies in artificial intelligence (AI), semiconductors, and big data may be designated as national critical infrastructure. Companies such as Kakao, Samsung Electronics, and SK hynix have been mentioned. During the SK C&C Pangyo Data Center fire, there were already calls to designate value-added telecommunications services as national critical infrastructure under disaster and safety laws. There have also been ongoing discussions about the need for national-level management of semiconductor-related facilities.

The criteria being considered by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety for designating industries as national critical infrastructure include whether a disruption in an industry’s functions would significantly affect the maintenance of key functions in other sectors or whether it fulfills a core manufacturing process or supply chain role that is difficult to replace in a short period. All the private companies being discussed meet these criteria. The ministry’s plan is to identify industries to be designated and set priorities based on overlap with existing sectors, importance as determined by field surveys, risk and vulnerability assessments. Production value, export share, substitutability, and influence on national credibility will also be reviewed for each industry.

However, for now, discussions are expected to focus only on “industries,” not specific companies. This is because designating a particular company as national critical infrastructure could cause issues in its business operations.

Once designated as national critical infrastructure, facilities must be managed at the national level. The government must establish a national critical infrastructure protection plan to create disaster management systems tailored to the unique characteristics of each facility, region, and industry sector. Security measures such as network redundancy and diversification, as well as maintenance and security checklists for information systems, must also be followed. Even private facilities must establish systems that maintain the highest level of safety.

An official from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety stated, “This is an effort to establish thorough protection systems for critical facilities to minimize public harm in the event of social or economic emergencies,” adding, “First, we will comprehensively review expert opinions on how to approach and segment the overall industrial sector.”