DAEJEON — A fire at the National Information Resources Service (NIRS) in Daejeon, the central hub for South Korea's administrative network, has crippled 647 government services and systems. The incident, caused by a lithium-ion battery fire, has effectively paralyzed the nation's digital infrastructure, leading the government to rely on private platforms like Naver to disseminate critical public announcements.

The fire, which began around 8:15 PM on Friday, September 26, occurred during a maintenance operation to relocate an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) battery at the NIRS main building in Hwaam-dong, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon. The fire started in a single battery unit that had been disconnected from its power source. One worker from the maintenance company sustained first-degree burns to their face and arms. The battery manufacturer was identified as LG Energy Solution.

Firefighting crews, consisting of over 170 personnel and 63 vehicles, responded to the scene. The main blaze was brought under control by 6:30 AM on Saturday. Officials explained that a swift response was complicated by the need to avoid water, which could damage valuable government data servers. Instead, they primarily used gas-based extinguishing systems like carbon dioxide.

As a result of the fire, numerous critical government services have been rendered inoperable. These include the mobile ID system, the "People's E-Petition" platform (Gukmin Shinmungo), and the online civil services portal "Government 24." Official websites for various ministries, including the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the Ministry of Economy and Finance, are also inaccessible.

During a press briefing at the Seoul Government Complex, Kim Min-jae, Vice Minister of the Interior and Safety, explained that the systems were proactively shut down to prevent damage. "The fire's impact caused the HVAC systems to malfunction, raising concerns about server overheating," he said. "We preemptively stopped the systems to safely preserve the information." Kim added that the top priority is to restore services with the widest public impact, such as postal and financial services.

To mitigate public inconvenience, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety has asked relevant agencies to extend deadlines for tax payments and document submissions. In an unprecedented move, the government has turned to Naver, South Korea's largest search engine and web portal, to serve as a central information hub for the public. Citizens can now check for updates on the affected services and find alternative websites through Naver's official announcements.

The incident highlights the nation's vulnerability to single points of failure within its digital infrastructure and raises questions about redundancy and disaster recovery protocols for essential government services.

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