Fire at South Korea's state data centre halts online government services

A fire at South Korea's data infrastructure centre on Friday interrupted dozens of online government services including websites and email, according to media reports.

The battery fire at the National Information Resources Service began about 8:15 pm in Daejeon, about 140 km (86 miles) south of Seoul, Yonhap and The Chosun daily reported, citing the interior ministry.

People were evacuated from the scene and one person suffered a minor injury, the reports said.

The National Information Resources Service and Seoul Metropolitan Government did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment outside regular business hours.

The fire forced the suspension of 70 online government services, including the mobile identification system and the government platform for complaints and petitions, according to the media outlets.