PPP sets up task force on gov't service outage after data center fire

▲ Song Eon-seog (C), floor leader of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), speaks at the National Assembly in Seoul on Oct. 15, 2025, at a ceremony to appoint the head of a emergency task force to address the disruption of government services affected by a major fire at a state data center last month. (Yonhap)

PPP-data center fire

PPP sets up task force on gov't service outage after data center fire

SEOUL, Oct. 15 (Yonhap) -- The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) on Wednesday launched an emergency task force to address the nationwide outage of government services caused by a major fire at a state data center last month.

As of Monday, around 40 percent of the government's online administrative services hit by the Sept. 26 fire at the National Information Resources Service (NIRS) in the central city of Daejeon have been restored, according to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters.

"The fire was a catastrophic disaster that showed how the entire system of the South Korean government could be paralyzed in an instant," PPP floor leader Song Eon-seog said during a ceremony at the National Assembly. "The government has yet to determine the exact cause of the incident and the restoration rate has remained at around 30 percent for nearly a month."

Song also criticized President Lee Jae Myung for appearing on a TV cooking show with the first lady amid the nationwide outage of online government services.

He then called on the task force, led by PPP Rep. Park Duk-hyum, to thoroughly investigate the cause of the incident and come up with measures to prevent its recurrence.

The fire at the NIRS broke out when a lithium-ion battery exploded in a server room and was completely extinguished the following day. Police are investigating the exact cause of the fire.

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