• A lithium battery fire at a South Korean data centre has halted 647 government services.
• Prime Minister Kim Min-seok issued apologies for the widespread disruption.
• The incident exposed vulnerabilities in South Korea’s digital infrastructure.
• Recovery efforts are underway, but only 62 services have been restored as of Monday.
• This incident follows a similar fire in 2022 that impacted major digital services.

A catastrophic fire caused by a lithium-ion battery explosion at South Korea's National Information Resources Service in Daejeon has disrupted 647 essential government services, leaving millions without access to postal banking, tax systems, and emergency services. The fire, which broke out on Friday night during maintenance operations, was exacerbated by a "thermal runaway" that made firefighting efforts challenging for nearly 10 hours, leading to widespread service outages, according to India Times and The Jakarta Post.

In response to the incident, Prime Minister Kim Min-seok apologized, calling it a wake-up call about the vulnerabilities in South Korea's digital infrastructure. He acknowledged that the concentration of critical systems at a single site made it difficult to manage the situation effectively. "There may be delays in processing civil applications or interruptions in the issuance of certificates, causing inconvenience in daily life," he added, echoing sentiments reported by Channel News Asia and South China Morning Post.

As the recovery process begins, only 62 of the affected services were back online by Monday, with many essential functions, such as the main government portal and postal banking systems, gradually being restored. Officials have indicated that the full recovery timeline remains uncertain, with ongoing concerns about server overheating hindering efforts to resume operations swiftly. This lack of a definitive recovery plan is particularly alarming given previous disturbances in South Korea's digital service landscape, highlighted by a similar incident in 2022 that affected millions using popular apps, as noted by Channel News Asia and India Times.

Experts have indicated that the recent incident emphasizes the need for improved disaster recovery planning and robust backup systems within the government’s digital infrastructure. “Such disruptions should never occur at a national agency,” said Lee Seong-yeob, a professor at Korea University's Graduate School of Management of Technology, highlighting a failure to prepare adequately for such events, as reported by South China Morning Post and The Jakarta Post.