Telecom firms vow collaboration in emergency

Korean police, fire authorities and National Forensics officials inspect a KT facility in Ahyeon-dong, western Seoul, to find the cause of the fire, Monday. / Yonhap

By Jung Hae-myoung

Investigators from the emergency services conducted a second inspection of a KT facility in Seoul, Monday, to identify the exact cause of a major fire, which led to a massive internet and phone blackout in the capital area.

Officials from the police, fire service and National Forensic Service as well as the Korea Electric Power Corp. carried out the investigation.

On Saturday morning a fire started in the underground cable network of the KT property, damaging 8 billion won ($7 million) worth of equipment and disrupting communications the west of the city.

The fire which started around 11 a.m. and continued for nearly 10 hours ― the cause is still unknown ― burned 168,000 telephone lines and 220 bundles of fiber optic cables in a service tunnel in Ahyeon-dong, Seodaemun-gu.

Science and ICT Minister You Young-min held an emergency meeting with CEOs of Korea's three major telecommunication companies ― KT, SKT and LG Uplus ― calling on them to enhance cooperation in the case of major communication emergencies in the future.

“Along with continuing efforts to prevent fires, the three telecommunication corporations should be able to have a network to share with each other in the case of an emergency,” the minister said. The three companies pledged to work together to prevent similar incidents.

The ICT ministry also held a meeting to expand the government's fire inspection range as the affected facility lacked fire detector and suppression systems including sprinklers.

“We will find ways to inspect major communication facilities, including those rated Level D which are checked by the business operator,” the ministry announced. “A taskforce will be formed by the end of the year to better prevent network disasters.”

Before the incident, the government has inspected 80 buildings, graded from A to C, while 835 other buildings categorized as D, including the KT building, conducted self-inspections.

To better prevent fires, the ministry plans to strengthen regulations, making it mandatory to install surveillance cameras, detectors and sprinklers at all telecom facilities that use centralized underground cables.

Under the current Fire Services Act, cable housing tunnels that are less than 500 meters in length do not have to install fire prevention systems such as fire alarms, extinguishers and combustion prevention systems.

This latest incident affected hundreds of convenience stores and restaurants, as well as delivery application services. Some restaurants and convenience stores complained they lost customers as they were not able to accept credit and debit card payments.

According to KB Securities, the estimated damages could be as high as 317 billion won ($280 million).

KT Chairman Hwang Chang-gyu apologized for the incident Sunday, and announced an exemption of a month's fee for customers, while devising a compensation plan for small business owners the network disruption affected.