(South Korea, 28th) — A fire broke out at the National Information Resources Service (NIRS) in Yuseong District, Daejeon City, South Korea, on the night of the 26th, drawing widespread attention. According to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the fire was caused by the spontaneous combustion of lithium batteries in the institute’s Uninterruptible Power Supply room and erupted around 8:15 p.m. The blaze lasted 10 hours before being brought under control in the early morning of the 27th.
During the fire, personnel inside the institute evacuated quickly, though one person suffered minor injuries.
According to South Korean media “Maeil Business Newspaper”, the NIRS is a vital institution for operating national information systems. It is responsible for the integration, construction, protection, and management of information systems for central administrative agencies, local governments, and public institutions, as well as key facilities such as the national information and communications network.
This fire damaged 12 tier-1 systems, including mobile ID cards, and 58 tier-2 systems, causing temporary paralyses in services such as postal and financial information access for citizens, with a total of 647 government business systems ceasing operation.
On the 27th, Minister of the Interior and Safety Yoon Hee-keun chaired a related meeting and decided that the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters will handle the crisis. The alert level was also raised from “Caution” to “Severe.”
During the fire, personnel inside the institute evacuated quickly, though one person suffered minor injuries.
According to South Korean media “Maeil Business Newspaper”, the NIRS is a vital institution for operating national information systems. It is responsible for the integration, construction, protection, and management of information systems for central administrative agencies, local governments, and public institutions, as well as key facilities such as the national information and communications network.
This fire damaged 12 tier-1 systems, including mobile ID cards, and 58 tier-2 systems, causing temporary paralyses in services such as postal and financial information access for citizens, with a total of 647 government business systems ceasing operation.
On the 27th, Minister of the Interior and Safety Yoon Hee-keun chaired a related meeting and decided that the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters will handle the crisis. The alert level was also raised from “Caution” to “Severe.”