In a digitalised South Korea, most administrative tasks can be handled easily online. But that was not the case on Monday morning, the first workday after a fire over the weekend incapacitated most public online administrative services.
Advertisement
On Friday, the National Information Resources Service in Daejeon, which operates the country’s data centre and network security system, was hit by a lithium-ion battery fire. It was extinguished after 22 hours, but the blaze shut down 647 administrative systems.
Although systems – including Government24, the state portal for most administrative services, and postal banking services – are gradually being restored, South Koreans still faced major disruptions on Monday.
At 9am, when a community service centre in Seoul’s Dongdaemun district opened, residents gathered to handle tasks normally done online.
Kim, 25, who asked to be identified only by her surname, said the disruption forced her to delay a planned trip out of the city.
Advertisement