Hundreds of South Korean government services go offline following data center fire

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Battery fire causes major outage

A sea of batteries all standing on their end
(Image credit: StoreDot)
  • Over 600 South Korean government services remain disrupted after outage
  • The 22-hour fire started from one single battery, spread to 200-400 batteries
  • Researcher criticizes the facility’s battery storage techniques

A fire at the National Information Resources Service (NIRS) in Daejeon, South Korea affected all of its servers, suspending 647 online government systems across the nation in the process.

The fire, which started in one lithium-ion battery, spread to an estimated 234 batteries, though depending on the source, estimated rise as high as 400. This caused temperatures inside the facility to reach 160°C.

Only around 30 online systems have since been restored, leaving more than 600 affected by the fire-induced outage.

South Korean systems down due to battery fire

According to The Investor, it took the best part of a full day (22 hours) to fully extinguish the fire, with submerging batteries in water proving the most effective method.

This comes after the facility had already started moving batteries as part of its fire precautions.

Yuseong Fire Station Chief Kim Ki-seon said the fire started during a procedure to shut off the power as part of this relocation effort.

The report cites an unnamed senior researcher as a “major battery firm,” noting that large-scale Energy Storage Systems (ESS) have built-in safety features like fire suppression to tackle overheating and explosions. NIRS’ Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) used a much simpler rack-based system which leaves them more exposed.

South Korea’s fire also raises concerns about reliance on a single data center, which in this case brought down nearly 650 government systems, including the 119 emergency rescue service’s location-tracking function.

“We apologize for causing great inconvenience to the public by delaying civil applications and the issuance of certificates,” Interior Minister Yun Ho-jung shared.

Authorities are yet to confirm the precise cause of the blaze.

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Craig Hale
Craig Hale

With several years’ experience freelancing in tech and automotive circles, Craig’s specific interests lie in technology that is designed to better our lives, including AI and ML, productivity aids, and smart fitness. He is also passionate about cars and the decarbonisation of personal transportation. As an avid bargain-hunter, you can be sure that any deal Craig finds is top value!

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