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President orders sweeping review of gov't digital networks after data center fire
President Lee Jae Myung speaks in a Cabinet meeting at the presidential office in Yongsan District, central Seoul, Tuesday.
By Park Ung
Regulators warn of phishing scams exploiting government service disruption
President Lee Jae Myung on Tuesday ordered all ministries to review their security and safety systems after last week’s fire at a government data center disrupted most online administrative services and the government work portal.
“Given the public inconvenience caused by the government data center fire, I ask the government to restore systems swiftly and minimize disruptions,” Lee said during a Cabinet meeting.
“Ministries and government organizations should check whether security and safety manuals are in place and followed, and report any problems along with detailed reinforcement plans. I will personally review the report at next week’s Cabinet meeting.”
Lee's order came after the National Information Resources Service in Daejeon, which manages the government's data center and network security, was struck by a lithium-ion battery fire on Friday. The blaze, which erupted in a server room on the fifth floor, was extinguished after 22 hours but shut down 647 administrative systems. Police are investigating the exact cause.
The president called the situation “hard to imagine and understand,” referring to the agency's failure to operate a backup system. He added that it was also his fault for not recognizing the problems in advance.
Police officers inspect burned lithium-ion batteries at the National Information Resources Service in Daejeon, Tuesday, after a fire at the agency on Friday. Yonhap
He also asked authorities to focus on preventing crimes such as cyberattacks and phishing that could exploit the administrative network outage.
With Lee’s order, the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service issued a consumer alert, warning of possible smishing, or text message-based scam attempts, exploiting the limited availability of government services after the fire.
Authorities warned that financial institutions never send app installation files via text message or request information through temporary websites, urging the public to avoid clicking on suspicious links.
The Ministry of the Interior and Safety issued a similar warning, adding that the government will not send text or social media messages with direct links.
The National Intelligence Service raised the national cyberthreat alert level from attention to caution, citing the need for stronger monitoring of digital crimes ahead of the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in late October.
Rep. Jang Dong-hyuk, leader of the main opposition People Power Party, speaks at the National Assembly in Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap
Political reactions also intensified on Tuesday.
The main opposition People Power Party formed a task force to respond to the nationwide network paralysis caused by the fire.
The team is chaired by Rep. Park Duk-hyum and includes lawmakers from the science and ICT, public administration and intelligence committees.
“The task force will hold meetings and conduct field activities to ensure swift recovery, identify the cause of the incident and prevent recurrences,” the party said.
To ease public inconvenience ahead of the extended Chuseok holiday beginning with National Foundation Day on Friday, the government prioritized restoring high-demand services.
By Tuesday, nearly 90 government services — including Gov24, the state portal for administrative services, and postal banking services — out of the 647 had been restored, the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters said.
However, the government said it expects about four weeks will be needed to relocate and restore 96 systems directly damaged by the fire to a data center in Daegu.
"We'll disclose the list of the 647 services to the public and transparently update how and when they are restored," said Interior Minister Yun Ho-jung, who is the chief of the headquarters.