South Korean PM Apologises as Major Fire Shuts Down National Data Centre, Leaves Critical Government Services Offline
SEOUL, Sept 27 — A massive fire at South Korea’s National Information Resources Service (NIRS) data centre in Daejeon has sent ripples across the country’s digital infrastructure, disabling around 70 critical online government services and leaving public agencies scrambling to recover.
At the heart of the incident is a suspected explosion of a lithium-ion battery—reportedly produced by LG Energy Solution—during routine maintenance work. The explosion triggered a catastrophic fire around 8:20 PM local time on Wednesday. The resulting “thermal runaway” generated such extreme heat in the server room that firefighters were initially unable to aggressively tackle the blaze, according to emergency and government officials.
Despite efforts that eventually brought the fire under control early Thursday morning, more than 600 servers remain shut down as a precautionary measure. Firefighters are currently extracting nearly 400 battery packs from the affected area to ensure further safety.
The Daejeon facility is one of several critical data hubs that support South Korea’s advanced government systems. However, the centralized nature of its operations—housed under one roof—meant that the damage had an outsized impact on public services.
As of Thursday afternoon, several vital services were still inaccessible, including the mobile ID system, postal services, and the government legal database. Multiple ministries reported internal communication blackouts, including the inability to send or receive emails.
During a televised emergency briefing, Prime Minister Kim Min-seok publicly apologized for the massive disruption and promised swift action. “We deeply regret the inconvenience caused to the public. Essential services must never be this vulnerable,” he said. The Prime Minister added that tax payment deadlines will be extended to accommodate those affected.
“The difficulty in containing the fire stemmed from critical systems being concentrated at a single site,” Kim acknowledged.
Officials confirmed that the initial spark is still under investigation, and LG Energy Solution has declined to comment while inquiries are ongoing.
Only one minor injury was reported, although authorities noted significant damage to the fifth floor of the building where the fire originated.
As the country waits for services to be restored, this incident has reignited conversations around the fragility of digital infrastructure, over-reliance on centralized data systems, and the urgency of backup protocols in the face of disaster.