South Korea: Normalisation of state computer network expected to take 2 weeks following fire

Seoul, Sep 28 (IANS) South Korea's Interior Ministry said Sunday it has begun gradually resuming operations of the administrative computer network after a fire caused by a battery explosion crippled the system, although a full restoration is widely anticipated to take around two weeks.

The fire broke out at the National Information Resources Service in the central city of Daejeon on Friday after a lithium-ion battery exploded in a computer room on the fifth floor.

As of 7 a.m., the government had restored more than 50 per cent of network devices at the centre, according to the ministry.

Of the 767 key security-related devices, 99 per cent had begun functioning again, it said.

The ministry said it will gradually begin running 551 computer systems that were not directly affected by the fire in a bid to review whether the online service is operating normally, Yonhap News Agency reported.

Of the total 647 government network systems at the centre, 96 were presumed to be damaged by the recent blaze, including the mobile identification system and online postal service.

An official from the Interior Ministry noted that the government intranet, the Onnara System, which is essential for the public sector, currently offers only limited services, with key features remaining shut down.

The government said it is preparing to relocate the 96 damaged systems to the agency's branch in the southeastern city of Daegu, a process expected to take around two weeks for full restoration.

The Finance Ministry, meanwhile, said its key platforms, including the state financial information network and the government subsidies portal, have resumed operation.

"The government is making efforts to swiftly restore the administrative system. We will disclose the progress in the recovery work and the cause of the fire in a transparent manner," said Kim Kwang-yong, chief of the Disaster Safety Management Headquarters.

The Science Ministry said the financial service operated by Korea Post had resumed operation as of 9 p.m. on Sunday, including debit card transactions, online banking and ATM services.

The restoration of its mailing service, however, is still underway, with operations expected to begin early Monday, it added.

"In order to fully normalise mailing and financial services of Korea Post, we plan to continue system updates and maintain monitoring efforts to assess the damage," Science Minister Bae Kyung-hoon said.

The fire service and police plan to carry out on-site inspections in a bid to determine the cause of the fire.

Government officials said the explosion occurred in one of the centre's uninterruptible power supply batteries while workers were disconnecting them from servers to relocate them to the basement.

The flames were completely extinguished at 6 p.m. on Saturday, some 22 hours after the outbreak, authorities said.

--IANS

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