South Korea restores over 100 online government services after fire

South Korea has restored more than 100 online government services after a fire on Sept. 26 at the National Information Resources Service data centre in Daejeon disrupted hundreds of systems, but officials warned full recovery could take weeks and an investigation into the cause remains under way. The blaze damaged servers and halted services used for public identification, banking, customs, police and firefighting systems, affecting 647 government services in total, officials said.

Authorities reported steady progress in restoration through the week. Interior Minister Yun Hojung said the government had recovered key portals and some financial and postal systems, adding, "We see services restoring every hour." By Thursday morning officials said 110 services, about 17 percent of those affected, had been brought back online. Emergency teams installed a situation room at the data centre and dispatched civilian experts and researchers to accelerate repairs during the extended Chuseok holiday.

Investigators suspect the fire began when a lithium ion battery exploded in a server room during maintenance, according to the safety ministry. The batteries were supplied and maintained by an...