An official in charge watches burning national resources while standing on international safety regulations. This illustrates that the paralysis of 647 government computer networks due to a lack of power redundancy is a man-made disaster. Han-Mi Daily Graphic

The fire in the UPS battery room at the National Information Resources Service in Daejeon is not a simple technical accident. 647 government network services were paralyzed simultaneously. This was an unprecedented crisis where the entire infrastructure directly connected to the lives of citizens collapsed in an instant.

When replacing UPS batteries, the international standard follows the basic principle of "maintaining uninterruptible power." If the power is cut, monitoring devices also turn off, making it impossible to control residual charges or cell imbalances, thereby increasing the risk of fire. These regulations were strengthened in the U.S. and Japan after they experienced similar UPS fires in the early 2000s that disrupted administrative services for millions of people. Since then, these countries have made power redundancy systems and real-time safety monitoring mandatory to completely prevent such accidents.

However, it is reported that a power redundancy system was never established in the first place at the national computer room. Industry experts point out, "The essence of this incident is not the absence of a backup center, but the fact that power redundancy itself was missing." They argue that the root cause is a lack of safety management rather than equipment failure.

Regulations existed but were not followed, inspections were merely formal, and investment and oversight were absent. The fact that entire core national services were paralyzed by a single point of failure can only be viewed as a predictable man-made disaster, not an accident.

The ultimate responsibility for management and oversight lies with Minister of the Interior and Safety Yoon Ho-jung. The decision to proceed with replacements without redundancy equipment and the management system that neglected aging batteries both fall under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. This is why responsibility cannot simply be shifted to subcontractors or workers.

Moreover, President Lee Jae-myung previously mentioned even suspending business operations for companies involved in fatal construction site accidents. While there were no casualties in this incident, Minister Yoon’s political accountability appears unavoidable, given the astronomical damage caused by the paralysis of 647 national infrastructure services.

National computer networks are the backbone of citizens' daily lives and the core of national security. Since the ministry responsible for managing them pushed safety to the sidelines, the Minister must be held accountable.

Furthermore, a thorough investigation into the truth of this accident, institutional measures to prevent recurrence, and responsible decision-making must follow. That is the minimum duty that Minister Yoon Ho-jung must fulfill now.

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