what happened and why it matters
A major fire at the National Information Resources Service (NIRS) data center in Daejeon on Friday night—caused by a lithium-ion battery explosion—has left hundreds of South Korean government services offline and disrupted citizen access to mobile ID, postal and legal systems. Officials warned recovery could take days as they inspect damaged servers and replace destroyed battery packs. ….Reuters
Fire cripples government systems: 647 services halted after battery explosion
Authorities said the blaze began around 20:15–20:30 local time in a fifth-floor IT room when an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) battery exploded and went into “thermal runaway.” By Saturday morning, officials reported 647 government systems suspended, including the Government24 portal, mobile ID, the e-People petition platform and some ministry email services. One person suffered a minor injury and all personnel were evacuated. …….The Korea Times
Why a battery pack caused so much damage
Fire chiefs and NIRS engineers said the explosion set off cascading heat that damaged cooling and humidity control systems in the server room. Fire crews found hundreds of battery packs destroyed; one report said 384 packs were beyond use and would need replacing — a process that could take significant time. Officials also noted that staff had been relocating some UPS units when the blast occurred, complicating containment.
Immediate public impact: IDs, taxes and daily services disrupted
The outage forced the government to warn the public about delays in processing civil complaints, petitions and documents. Prime Minister Kim Min-seok apologized for the inconvenience and said tax deadlines may be extended to reduce harm to citizens and businesses while critical services remain down. Some ministries reported they could not access email or internal networks.
Recovery plan and technical challenges — “too early to say” when systems will resume
NIRS Director Lee Jae-yong told reporters it was “too early to say when services can resume,” noting that the high heat inside the damaged server room prevents immediate restoration work. Officials said they have shut down more than 600 servers pre-emptively to protect data and will inspect hardware before attempting restarts — a cautious approach that could stretch timelines.
Wider lessons — concentration risk and battery safety in data centers
Experts say the incident highlights two industry risks: reliance on centralized infrastructure that concentrates many critical services in one facility, and the growing need for strict safety standards around lithium-ion UPS systems.
Lithium batteries can experience thermal runaway if damaged or improperly handled; data centers globally have tightened protocols after similar incidents in recent years. South Korea’s investigators are expected to review installation, maintenance and relocation procedures closely.
Quick guidance for citizens and businesses
- Use alternate offline or paper channels for urgent civil documents where possible.
- Monitor official government notices for which services are unaffected or temporarily redirected.
- Expect delays for electronic filings and plan for extended payment windows until services are restored.
Frequently Asked Questions
What caused the data center fire in Daejeon?
Officials say a lithium-ion uninterruptible power supply (UPS) battery exploded inside a server room, triggering a thermal-runaway fire.
How many government services are down?
Authorities reported that **647 government systems** were suspended following the fire; some reports list a smaller number of directly affected systems while the larger figure reflects precautionary shutdowns.
Are citizen IDs and tax services affected?
Yes — the mobile ID system and several tax and postal services were among those disrupted; the government has signaled possible deadline extensions.
When will services be restored?
There is no firm timetable yet. Officials said it is too early to estimate recovery time because heat damage and safety checks must be completed first.
Was anyone seriously hurt?
One person sustained minor injuries; all staff were evacuated and no fatalities were reported.
Author note
I’m Ameer Hamza — I report on tech infrastructure and public-sector IT incidents using major news agencies and official briefings. For this article I used Reuters, Yonhap, Korea JoongAng Daily and Korea Times. Where officials gave preliminary numbers, I cite them and note the investigation is ongoing.