[비즈한국] The raw face of South Korea, an 'IT powerhouse', has been exposed once again. Following the SK Telecom017670 hacking incident in April and the KT unauthorized micro-payment hacking accident in August, a fire at the National Information Resources Service (NIRS) computer center in Daejeon has now paralyzed a significant number of government operational systems.
According to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS) and other sources on the 27th, the crisis alert level was raised from 'Caution' to 'Serious' as of 8:00 AM that day, and the 'Crisis Response Headquarters' was elevated to the 'Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters.' This follows the shutdown of 647 government systems caused by a fire that broke out in the NIRS computer room at approximately 8:15 PM the previous evening. It is reported that the fire started in one of the batteries where power had been cut off during work to relocate the Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) batteries to the basement. The fire was extinguished at around 6:30 AM that day.
Due to the fire, public inconvenience is mounting as access to numerous administrative services, including Government24 and the Internet Post Office, has been restricted. The Government24 website, which provides information on approximately 5,000 types of civil applications such as address registration and allows users to obtain documents like resident registration certificates, driving records, certificates of entry and exit, and tax certificates online, has posted a notice regarding the temporary service suspension, directing users to alternative sites for document issuance and advising the use of offline windows.
The Internet Post Office site has also gone down. As a result, postal services and financial services such as postal deposits and insurance are unavailable. While parcel delivery is operating via an offline system—meaning there is no issue with the delivery system itself—delays are expected in some services like international mail due to the difficulty in real-time information processing. In particular, with a long holiday period approaching from the 3rd to the 9th of next month, spanning National Foundation Day, the Chuseok holiday, and Hangeul Day, there is a significant risk of a postal crisis if the computer network restoration is delayed. During the special delivery period for the Chuseok holiday (until the 14th of next month), the volume of mail handled by post offices nationwide is expected to reach an average of about 1.6 million items per day, a 4.8% increase compared to last year.
Financial services at post offices, including deposits, withdrawals, transfers, ATM usage, insurance premium payments, and insurance claims payouts, have also been halted. The Korea Post stated that they will take measures to ensure there are no damages resulting from delays in insurance premium payments or repayments of policy loans, so that the maintenance of postal deposit and insurance contracts is not affected.
Service restrictions have also emerged in the banking sector. Banks announced on the 26th, "From 8:40 PM until the MOIS system check is completed, services such as resident registration card/mobile ID authentication, overseas IP blocking, customer transfer transactions, and electronic document wallet services will be suspended." This means it is difficult to open deposit/withdrawal accounts, issue certificates, or re-register simple passwords using resident registration cards or mobile IDs. However, verification services using physical driver's licenses or passports remain operational.
Kim Min-jae, Vice Minister of the Interior and Safety, emphasized at a briefing held at the Government Complex Seoul that day, "We will first restore postal finance and postal services, which have a large impact on the public," adding, "We have guided and requested cooperation from relevant agencies to postpone tax payments and document submissions that fall due before the system is normalized."
The expected time for full system restoration remains unclear. Although the fire has been extinguished, the heat has not yet dissipated, meaning entry into the computer room to determine the cause has not even been possible. Lee Jae-young, Director of the National Information Resources Service, stated cautiously, "The expected restoration time can only be confirmed after entering the computer room to inspect the servers and restart them once the fire department's safety check is complete," adding that it is "difficult to make a premature prediction."