Blaze Disrupts South Korea's Digital Backbone

A fire at South Korea's data infrastructure center on Friday disrupted numerous online government services, according to media reports. The incident highlights the vulnerabilities in the country's digital backbone.

The battery fire ignited around 8:15 p.m. in Daejeon, which is located approximately 140 kilometers south of Seoul, as reported by Yonhap and The Chosun daily, citing the interior ministry. Evacuation measures were promptly taken, but the blaze resulted in one individual suffering a minor injury.

The National Information Resources Service and Seoul Metropolitan Government did not provide immediate comments to Reuters outside regular office hours. The conflagration led to the suspension of 70 online government services, among them the mobile identification system and the platform for complaints and petitions, demonstrating significant operational disruptions.